Buying An Older Home: 7 Reasons To Say Yes To An Old House

I love old houses.

I think it has a lot to do with growing up in Florida; hardly any of the houses in my hometown were built before the 60’s, so when I would go up north to visit my grandparents, I was fascinated by the old farmhouses with creaky attics and creepy basements that had been standing in the same spot for a century or more. I loved imagining the people who had lived there, what their lives had been like.

I didn’t realize not everyone shares my affinity for older homes. When I grew up and my friends started buying places of their own, I realized there are plenty of people that prefer new and modern to old and charming.

And that’s totally fine—to each his own. But today I’m here to make the case for buying an old house. If you’re thinking about buying an older home, there’s a lot to love! Like…

They’re built to last

They don’t make ‘em like they used to.

The home inspector who checked out our house before we bought it told me it would cost a fortune to build houses today the way they did 75 years ago.

For example, current building code calls for wall studs to be framed 16 inches on center, a.k.a. 16 inches from one stud to the next. They used to do them 12 inches apart, making for a stronger wall, but using fewer studs further apart was a lot cheaper so they wrote the code that way. (No, I didn’t just whip that knowledge out of my back pocket. It came straight from the mouth of our trusty inspector)

Plus, a house that’s been around 100 years has weathered a lot. If it hasn’t been knocked down by a storm yet, there’s a pretty good chance it will stand up to anything that blows your way.

They have great bones

Aside from the quality of the construction, old homes have some really beautiful architectural details. Think high ceilings, wide plank floors, elaborate crown molding, and so on.

Sometimes they also come with cool, quirky features you don’t see anymore, like laundry chutes and antique doorknobs that can only be locked with a long-lost wrought-iron key.

It’s environmentally friendly

For me, this is a big one. There’s nothing I hate more than seeing a piece of nature bulldozed to make way for condos. Ugh. (Cue Big Yellow Taxi playing as the soundtrack to my bleeding-heart life)

Not all new construction is a bad thing, but I think there’s a lot to be said about fully utilizing the places we’ve already taken over before we go and pour asphalt on new ones.

*steps down off soap box*

It’s cost-effective

It’s true that old houses can come with added expenses, like modernizing electrical systems and repairing outdated appliances that suddenly decide to go bust.

Because of this, though, old houses can often be had at a killer price. It’s an especially great option for your first home or if you’re buying in an area where real estate is typically astronomical (hi, NYC suburbs!).

If you’re a first-time homebuyer, check out my post on 6 things to know before buying your first home here.

They’re a blank canvas

When you buy a newer house, the fixtures are someone else’s taste, but since they’re new it’s hard to justify replacing them.

When you buy an old house, there’s every justification in the world for ripping out that hideous lime green linoleum and starting fresh (or leaving it in place and rocking it, you retro diva you).

They’re in prime locations

When cities were founded, a lot of the best real estate was snatched up first. Now it makes for some of the cutest historic districts. Old houses are often in close proximity to downtown areas, coastline, green spaces, etc.

They tell a story

This is my favorite thing about old houses: there’s so much history to them. I loved listening to our home inspector rattle off the details he could ascertain simply from the home’s construction.

For example, the removal of a wall had turned two itty-bitty bedrooms into one larger master, probably sometime in the 70’s. He explained that the bungalows in our neighborhood were originally built as weekend getaways for rich city folk, so it didn’t matter so much that the bedrooms were tiny. When people started living out here full-time, though, they made changes to expand the rooms.

I don’t know why, but I think details like that are so neat. I guess it’s something about how so many generations of people can all take the same place and make it a home in their own unique way. And that, my friends, is the coolest thing about buying an old house.

Tell me: do you prefer old or new real estate? Why?

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