Pros and Cons of Buying an Older Home In An Established Neighborhood

One benefit of purchasing an existing home is buying into an established neighborhood.

The schools may be better than in newer areas, tree-lined streets are common and yards are usually landscaped. When you buy into a new development that's under construction, there's no way to know exactly how the project will look when it's completed. It usually takes years before landscaping is mature enough to soften the look of a new home's tract.

Older neighborhoods are often centrally located, offering good access to freeways, places of employment, theaters, entertainment, cultural activities and shopping centers. The best part about buying into an older neighborhood is that there are always older residents that can give you the ins and outs about what to do and where to shop etc.

New home developments often are built on the outskirts of town. You will spend a lot of money over the years just driving to the store.

A major appeal of an older home is its architectural uniqueness.

Older homes often are located in neighborhoods that were developed over a period of time and offer a variety of architectural styles. Buyers who are influenced by "curb appeal" - or what a house looks like from the street - often are attracted to older homes.

These homes may be characterized by a high level of craftsmanship, spacious rooms, hardwood floors, high ceilings, built-in bookcases, leaded or stained glass windows and distinctive moldings.

Buying an Older Home

An older home may be less expensive than a new home, but this will depend on its general condition. Older homes are usually less energy-efficient, and therefore costlier to heat than more energy-efficient new homes. Maintenance may be higher on an older home if major components such as the roof, kitchen appliances, furnace and hot water heater have not been replaced recently.

Most older homes aren't built to modern building code requirements. There's also a greater likelihood that an older home might contain materials that are environmentally hazardous, such as asbestos, lead or a buried heating oil tank.

Often sellers of older homes aren't aware of such hazards around their house, but this doesn't mean that there aren't any. Contact an environmental consultant to do further investigations of the property before you buy it if you suspect there might be environmental hazards present.

Older homes have withstood the test of time. When you buy an older home, you have the benefit of investigating problems that have developed during the current period of ownership.

Some problems (soils instability, structural and foundation defects) only become apparent over a period of time, so they're often easier to detect in an old home than in a new one. Be sure to have an older home thoroughly inspected by qualified professionals.

Find out the cost of heating an older home you're considering buying by asking the sellers for copies of utility bills.

Find out the age of the major systems:

• Furnace
• Water heater
• Appliances

Inquire about the plumbing and electrical systems. Have they been updated or are they original? Ask the sellers to provide you with a list of repairs and modifications they have made to these systems, including when they were made.

You can request this information as a condition of your purchase offer and make your offer subject to you approving this information within several days of receiving it.

It's a good idea to order a home protection plan at closing to cover the major systems, particularly if they're old. Sellers are often willing to pay the cost of such a plan, but if they refuse to, you can pay the cost yourself. Or, you and the seller could share the cost.