Buying A Home
CowgirlK39
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Is "updating" a home ever a good idea?
My DH and I looked at a house we really like a few weeks ago. Everything is great except cosmetic stuff. The home has been in the sellers family for three generations and most of the home is stuck in the second gens style. They recently put new carpeting in the upstairs but the rest of the house is out of date. They have countertops very similar to that of my grandmas house, which was from the 40s lol. When I expressed to my husband that this would be a LOT to do, he said that if we found a home that didn't need updating it would be way out of our price range.
Is it ever a good idea to buy a home that is stylisticly out of date? Is it true that one that isn't out of date is going to be way more expensive?
Re: Is "updating" a home ever a good idea?
This depends on where you live. Where I live, the new homes (which are almost non existent) are out of our price range. We settled on a house this past month that has some updates, but is decorated from the 60's-70's. My H and I will be updating it as we go, and trying to save for projects. It is a lot of work, but then we'll have it the way we want.
Good luck with your decision.
If the location is desirable and you plan on living there for 10+ years, then yes, I think it is okay to buy a home that you can renovate over time.
Will you make back all of your updates and improvements when you sell the home? Maybe. It's too hard to know....there are too many variables.
As long as you aren't pricing yourself out of the neighborhood (don't be the highest-end house on the block), and you renovate with potential resale in mind, you should be fine.
Although it's outdated, and a home inspection will reveal a lot, I'd be pretty confident in the quality of construction of an older home as compared to a new build.
The key things with buying a home is location, location, how long you intend to live there, and if you can live with the "bones" of the house and update over time.
My house was move in condition when I bought it 18 years ago. I loved the layout and the area (we live in a nice private cul de sac). It was built in the 1960's. It has hardwood floors with a wonderful finish in the living room, up the stairs to the upper level, and in the hallway outside the bedrooms upstairs.
Have I kept it the same way? Absolutely not! Each of the bedrooms has been painted at least once, some 2-4 times (the kid's tastes changed, LOL). I know there is hardwood under the carpet because we've pulled it out in one bedroom, and some day will get around to the others. The dark lower panelling in the kitchen and family room was painted white years ago. There's much less wallpaper, and what is there is what I chose in a minimal fashion.
The bathrooms still have the original tile and vanities, which are yes, outdated. But it was more important to me to get the kitchen done, which was just finished a couple of weeks ago. And when I say the kitchen was "done", we still couldn't afford to get new cabinets and countertops, but I purchased hardwood flooring and had that installed, and refaced all the cabinets in a cottage style, we did tear out an island to make more room, and I built a banquette/nook for the eating area. This was all done on a budget because I can't afford $5000 to redo my kitchen cabinets and countertops.
The key is how handy you are, what you are willing to tackle, and your plans for the future. I also think it's important to realize that things happen over time based on a budget. My kids are grown adults, but were little when we moved in. The house was the perfect size and location, with good school district, for our family. It's our "home" and will be until my husband and I retire and decide a ranch style for our aging knees is better for us than a quad with stairs, LOL.
Your husband thinks a home that is move-in condition will cost more. It might, but it might not. What some people "love", others might merely "like" or "put up with". If you like the layout of a sturdy home in a great neighborhood, updating can occur over time. Most young people don't have the money to put down on a home AND anything left over to re-do it all miraculously and immediately. Real life interferes with dreams of renovations. If you are handy, or know people who are, then it can be redone. I've learned more home improvement skills as a homeowner of a home I love than I ever have previously. I have a table saw, hand saw, nail gun, sander, drill, and I'm not afraid to use them, LOL.
Good luck.
This is good advice. Check the link in my siggy for an idea of just how expensive cosmetic updates can be.
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
Absolutely. I live in a very popular neighborhood, and houses that are updated sell much faster and for much more money than ones that are not.
As pps said, if it is in a location that you like and you plan to live there a while I'd definitely consider it. You can always change the looks of a house, but you can't change the location.
We are working on updating our home. We've been here almost 2 years and we should be done (ie in saleable condition that should turn us a profit) within the next year. We likely won't sell for another 2 years depending on the market. Would I do this again? Absolutely not. It's exhausting, it's expensive (although in the end we'll hopefully make it all back), and it's a ton of work. Plus living without an upstairs bathroom or exterior stairs is just no fun at all. But I still don't regret it. This home has great bones and a layout we generally love in a prime location. We never could have afforded it 2 years ago if it had been updated at that time, so we feel we got a good deal.
You really have to do what works best for you, and be honest with yourselves when you're thinking about this. They don't call it divorce dust for nothing - some people have a really hard time renovating (even simple "updates"can be challenging). Others love it.