Looking back on this past year, between rehabbing an entire house and working with clients, there is so much about an older house that we want to share.
A sweet reader wrote in recently and had a few questions on this topic. So of course, we decided after mulling over a few of our answers, to share it in a post. Because we figured other people may want to know too, and that’s how we roll. Diving head first into the unknown, is always scary. ALWAYS.
Buying an older house can be a big risk. Looking back, not only did we decide to start all over with our family and business in a new town, but hey… let’s take on an entire rehab as well. It’s been a lot and I don’t think we really stepped back to look at why life felt so chaotic at times. But all the craziness aside, was it worth it? Absolutely. So we thought we’d break it down with the cons, and then pros, too.
Without further ado and diving right in: What non one tells you about rehabbing an older house
1. Buying and rehabbing an older house will not save you money.
A friend purchased an older house the other day that they intend to rehab, and then immediately stated that she saved money.
I immediately gave her the side eye.
Every situation is different. {Giant disclaimer.} But we’ll just start with this one: One of the biggest myths people repeat all the time about an older house: Older houses save you money. Sometimes, this is true. The short answer would be maybe. If you plan on doing absolutely nothing to it. But there are a lot of different factors here people don’t consider up front.
An older house can end up costing in the same neighborhood as a new house. We purchased this house, and then put an entire additional mortgage into it. Have we lost our ever-loving minds? Maybe. Even with all the challenges, is it everything for our family and more? YES. It is totally worth it. We got exactly what we wanted, within reason. {See: Still waiting on that addition and life isn’t perfect.} So repeat after us: Buying an older house will not save you money if you plan to remodel it. But the difference is, you get a house that you want.
Which brings us to, for starters…
2. Unexpected expenses.
See this entire post, here for more details on that one. Seriously. The list goes on and on. An older house comes with a history. And it’s definitely something you want to look into. This is why we suggest you add 10% to the estimated cost. Builders do the same thing when building a new home. You just {most likely} never see that line item.
3. The system is working against you.
You fall in love with the charm of an older home. You have a vision and think that certainly, it’ll work! You call in the usual suspects when it comes to inspections, but guess what? Hate to pop that TV bubble – that 5-day inspection period isn’t enough time to investigate all. the. things.
Situation 1: Inspectors miss things. Ours missed a few doozies.
Situation 2: You know the usuals: Your HVAC will need to be replaced because all the ductwork is original to the house and older than you, and you’ll probably need a new roof in a few years. New windows would make the house more energy efficient too… but did you know that septic will hold you up for one entire year before you can do your basement because local codes are backed up and {for lack of a better phrase} on a power trip? They don’t care about your financial situation, or where you’ll be living in the meantime. The legal system doesn’t help because you end up pursuing something that requires lawyers, time, and more fees. Basically, most codes and the governments that run them set up road blocks for you. If you know this going in, you’ll be less stressed when it happens.
Bottom line: You may not have time to investigate such things. We knew they {local codes} were a handful but we simply had no idea how long we’d be waiting. There are a lot of outside factors that come into play. The whole thing can be a little unpredictable at times.
Situation 3: Or, maybe your vision just won’t work for your location. And you don’t know that until you invite the contractor in. Or what you want for the house isn’t possible, and you just don’t know that yet. It can be complicated and multifaceted in so many ways.
We could go on and on with examples. But the real estate system doesn’t really cater to the whole fixer-upper scene. You want to buy a house, bottom line… end of story. No one cares about what you want to do to it, so sometimes, you’re going in a little blindly because of the time involved behind investigating all the expenses and various situations that will pop up. Knowing this, having a budget for the unexpected and embracing the process will save your sanity in the long run.
It’s 2017… why doesn’t money grow on trees yet?
It all depends on your plans for your house.
Which brings us to…
4. It takes time.
Good things come to those who dig in, work hard, and are patient.
Rehabbing an older house takes time. And lots of it. This isn’t a TV show, and there are no commercial breaks. People invest their lives into it and not just with money, but sweat equity. Whether you hire out a contractor to handle it all, or you’re taking it on yourself, there is commitment involved.
For example:
You have to ask yourself if you’re handling it yourself, are you willing to give up weekends and nights on the side, when you really would like to catch up on House of Cards?
Or, if you’re working with hired individuals to find beautiful solutions for your home, are willing to pay what that’s worth?
We can’t say it enough: Remember this isn’t TV where they tell you on-screen that the reno is $65,000 when really it’s $130,000. Yes, this really is a thing, and there’s a reason everyone is always floored when the real cost comes back. You’ll have to remind yourself every morning that the tv is full of half-truths and a whole lot of scripted fiction. That’s a hard pill to swallow when you’re 3 months in, and nothing has been put back yet.
Any project takes commitment. You’re in a long term relationship with your house, and you have to be in it for the long haul. It’s not for the weak-hearted.
5. It’s not for everyone.
If any of the above situations we’ve discussed stress you out, that’s normal.
Know this: It will stress everyone out. No matter how chill you are.
Rehabbing an older home is a stressful process. You have a lot riding on this one. {A lot of that can be deterred by picking the right person to work with on your home. Read our post series on that here.} But there’s no way to know exactly what you’re getting into, until the project begins.
You either embrace it and roll with the punches, or give yourself a permanent stomach ulcer. Just be prepared for that stress, and know how you plan to handle it. Adjust your expectations and be willing to work through the process.
At the end of the day, know thyself, and know what you’re willing to do for the end product, if it’s worth it for you. For example a good test would be, if you aren’t willing to mow your own lawn, or try any form of DIY for your home, you probably aren’t willing to take on a rehab. And that’s totally fine because it takes different temperaments to make the world go ’round.
Just be prepared. You do you.
Here’s what buying an older house will do.
1. Get you into an established neighborhood.
It’s true what they say in real estate: location location location.
Most of the time, an older home in an established neighborhood that has been around for years, and won’t come with ugly surprises, because they’re surrounded by other neighborhoods.
Yes, there are always exceptions to the rule, so check out your zoning before diving in. But usually, Walmart or an apartment complex won’t be plowing their parking lot right into the corner of your yard. We consider this a pro. And usually, older houses can come with a bigger lot. Which means established trees, and lots of them. Nowadays, most newer homes are built quickly with smaller lots because the developers are trying to make as much money as possible in a neighborhood… so it’s all about what you want.
We purchased our home for the yard, community, location, and school. We knew we could handle the rest, and that it was worth it, for us.
2. A different mentality.
We’ve joked that we live in Mayberry.
Yes, a lot of our neighbors are older, but a lot are also around our age. We’ve found that many of the neighbors are in our stage of life, and looking for something a little different for their family. We’ve lost count of the number of people that have stopped by just to say hello. We can’t believe the level of friendliness since we moved in. We have more interactions with our neighbors here, than we ever have. {We even have plans to expand our front porch, just so we can have more relationships with neighbors, and invite the prospect of that. It’s a lost art, and we believe it’s time to bring it back. Sweet tea, anyone?}
I guess all this depends on where you end up landing, but we consider this a definite pro. Sometimes, we look around and still can’t believe that we live here. It’s just the perfect fit for us, after waiting for so long.
3. Not your cookie cutter norm.
When we were discussing a client’s rehab, a sweet reader from another area asked why someone would put so much money into an older home. It just wasn’t common where they’re from.
The answer is in lots of reasons, really. More than we can list here. It all comes down to personal preference, but bottom line: The charm. Both old and new. You can get exactly what you want. Or at least, exactly what you need, and that would be hard to find with a mass builder and limited options.
For our own home, we adore the finishes we chose. We were able to do exactly what we wanted. Even if we’re still waiting on some of it. {SOON, y’all}
It all works out in the end.
Bonus point: It’s a good move for the environment. Yes, we’re still rehabbing something. But it wasn’t a completely new build, a TON of our pieces went on to be rehabbed themselves, and it was something we changed not only for our preferences, but for health and energy efficient decisions, as well.
In other words, we weren’t ripping out something brand new just to get what we wanted. It was time to change out some of these things because they were older than me. There were layers of mold under the layers of linoleum under more layers of mold. It’s also good for our bills because it was a smart move on the energy saving front. {See: new windows, wiring, insulation, etc.}
4. You’ll fall completely head over heels in love with it.
Yes, this can count as a pro.
You’ll find odd photos left behind in the basement. It has a strange smell in the older areas you can’t rehab just yet. You may even wonder if it’s haunted. ;}
But what we do know is that we’re head over heels in love with this house. With all its quirks. We cried when we left our previous house one year ago. It was hard to say goodbye to over a decade of memories. I thought, this new house has big shoes to fill. And with all its weirdness and things that we still have to do {a lifetime of projects, y’all} we love this house. And we’re not even finished yet.
Honestly, we probably never will be. Such is life.
5. It’s a risk
Nothing these days are guaranteed. But we listed “risk” as a pro, because looking back, we’re so glad we did this. We lost sleep. We didn’t think we were going to make it. We debated and hem-hawed. We took a huge loss to get here, and a big leap to change markets from our old home. We’ve already made that back in our home’s appreciation, and our renovation isn’t even complete yet.
Money is always a scary thing. Risk is always a scary thing. But when you look back at the end of the day, it’s worth it.
This entire move was the single-most best thing we could have done for our family.
We love where we dwell.
__________________________
At the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for you and your family.
Purchasing and rehabbing an older home isn’t for everyone and we totally get that. But if you’re on the fence and find yourself falling in love with the area, yard, and neighbors already… take it from us, and go for it. Nothing worth having ever came easy.
If the present day me could go back one year ago and talk to the past me, I’d tell her it’s worth every tear, acrobatic stunt on a ladder with a nail gun, and scary hidden Porta Potty moment beside a sketcho pool. Truly.
Hang in there, and it will be totally worth it.
And when I look at myself a bit confused, I’d give myself a comforting smile. And some dark chocolate for a small coping mechanism.
What’s something you’d like for others to know about rehabbing an older home? We’d love to hear.
Have an inspired day!
kddomingue says
Wow! What a great post. Lots of wisdom. Diy shows on TV truly have a lot to answer for as they aren’t entirely truthful about expenses, roadblocks and time frames.
Jamie Harris says
So true! We are at the end of a year long renovation of an 1828 beauty! You have to LOVE it to take this on. I have questioned my sanity many times this year. This is not the first project we have taken on but will hopefully be the last. My advice is to interview several contractors and go see their work (ask realtors and homeowners – everyone you can!). I currently have a wonderful contractor in charge and this has been the best situation ever (in spite of being the most thorough, time consuming and most expensive). I have had to fire a contractor in the past and complete project on my own so I know both sides. Having someone willing to fight the battles for you is well worth it! I love being part of the history of a home. It is well worth it to our family to suffer for a little while!
I really enjoy the DIY shows and latest craze of fixing up houses, however, the costs portrayed are rarely realistic in my opinion. It gives people false hope. Find someone who can help you establish a very thorough budget.
I love how your home turned out! Congratulations! Thanks for educating people on the joys and hazards.
ashley @ the handmade home says
Very true, Jamie! Love your perspective. Thank you for your sweet words ;}
Amy says
Yes! Totally agree. I love our 1928 bungalow, and enjoying its charms is worth all the annoying parts about an older home. I’d never ever want a cookie cutter new build!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Right?! ;} Cheers to old houses!
Carolyn says
Any type of home from any era can be rehabbed. It’s knowing how. And you certainly do just that!
Carla says
Thank you so much for this! I’ve been renovating my (now) adorable 1955 bungalow by myself and sometimes I wonder if I’ve completely lost my mind. Wish I had read this when I started last year, I could have saved a LOT on Advil! LOL It really is all about the journey and now that I’m close to the end I’m completely, head over heels in love with the space I’ve created. You’re so right. Thanks again.