When a lot of people are trying to look for their so-called “forever home”, one of the main things that they try and look for is a sense of character and personality. One of the most common ways that people do this is by looking for older properties that might have a little more going for them that newer ones which are typically pretty samey. Now, the idea of living in a rustic little cottage or a Victorian townhouse might be incredibly tempting and sure, those kinds of properties have a huge amount of charm to them. However, there are some things that you need to be aware of before you decide to commit to this kind of property. Here are a few things that could make buying an older home a dream come true, or a waking nightmare.
Heating –
One of the most important things to think about when buying an older home is the issue of actually trying to keep the place warm during the colder months. It’s always a good idea to try and buy a home when the weather is cold so that you don’t get a nasty surprise when winter arrives. However, older homes can be a serious issue to heat. Many of them either have oil-based heating, which means that you’ll have to deal with things like oil storage tanks, or you could have a woodburning stove as the central method for heating your home. Both of these can be pretty difficult to deal with, and it can often be more than a lot of people are willing to handle when it’s the middle of winter.
Frequent maintenance –
Wear and tear is an issue that just about every homeowner is going to have to deal with, but it’s significantly more of an issue for older homes. Simply because of their age, many homes end up needing the kinds of repairs and maintenance that a lot of people never even have to think about. If you’re not prepared to make do some serious structural repairs on your home, then an older property might not be for you.
Energy costs –
One of the biggest concerns that comes up when people are building modern homes is how energy efficient they are. Of course, when people were constructing older homes, that was far less of a concern which means that the energy bills on many older homes are going to be a lot higher than their newer counterparts. This might not be a deal breaker for you, but it’s certainly something that you need to be aware of if you want to avoid paying more than you can afford month by month.
Of course, there’s a chance that you’re going to find a property that you’re so in love with that you’re willing to put up with any issues that might come up. If that’s the case, then you’ve got to make sure that you do as much research as possible so that you don’t end up taking on more than you can handle. Hopefully, once all the hard work is done, you can find a home that you’ll be happy in for a long time.
Love,
*This is a collaborative post