Last week, we were thrilled to share a little sneak peek and exciting announcement with you guys and we can’t thank you enough for your sweet support. We can’t wait to tell you more about our future house.
And we’re thrilled about diving in to make it a real home, and sharing the entire process. All of it. The good. The bad. The totally realistic.
Because there’s a lot of real going on. Trust us.
When making the choice to purchase an older home {hello, 40+ years} things can get a little scary intimidating with all. of. the. things.
There’s the plumbing and septic system. The electrical. The windows. The roof. The crawl space. Should I keep going? So much to consider.
And then there’s the HVAC and ductwork. We’re coming from a completely different place {see: lala land} in a worry-free, well maintained, single owner new construction home… to dealing with a 40+ year old home on the flip side. And with that, considering pouring all of our resources into a potential buy with all the surprises that can come with it… It’s mentally and physically exhausting.
We’ve been through the emotional roller coaster of considering all the things.
This post will henceforth be known as that time Service Experts saved the day, because we were absolutely thrilled to have them come to our potential house, and check it all out for us. They’ve worked on our home in Montgomery, and we’re really grateful to have them inspect our future home in Franklin, too.
This is Mr. Bruce.
He’s been working on systems for years, (forty?!?!?! to be exact) and he was absolutely amazing. He’s kind of our new best friend, really. Even though he doesn’t know it yet. We explained to him what we do and that we were trying to document our new home, every step of the way. So he humored us, and didn’t mind if we were dorks and took his picture. {If you ask us, his heroism should be documented.}
Because Mr. Bruce from Service Experts, is the kind of man you call on for help and can absolutely trust.
He was like the calming father figure who came in, and gave us what we needed, just when we needed it.
If it’s possible for someone who works on systems like this to have good bedside manner like a doctor, Mr. Bruce was our man. Because he pretty much showed up with his ‘doctor kit’ and gave it to us straight.
There we were, like worried new parents, wondering if the house that’s older than us will be a good decision for our family. Cue even a little pacing on our part. It can be a little nerve wracking when considering everything. Because when you decide to follow through with an older house, you’re following through with stuff for the long haul. And you want to make sure what you’ve signed up for… putting your money where your heart is… is what you absolutely know you’ve signed up for.
He was so patient and kind.
He took his time and explained everything.
If he wasn’t sure we understood, he took his time and explained it again.
He was absolutely thorough.
To the point where we want to have him over for dinner and thank him and then bake him cupcakes and hug him. To the point where he’ll wonder if we’re a little bit cuckoo and why we’re so excited about what he did for us. But really, it meant the world. He was doing his job, and he did it with excellence. He really went above and beyond that day.
He was completely honest, and put our minds at ease.
He was so amazing at a time in our lives when we were completely overwhelmed with making a huge, scary choice based on our future… we can’t really thank him enough.
He took a look at absolutely everything. He made us think about some hard things. He even cleaned out the inside of the system because he said he “doesn’t like to leave them like that” before putting the cover back on. We’re talking cobwebs and grass, and he took the time to clean it out, y’all. He was so sweet.
We can honestly say that until this day, we weren’t sure about the importance of having such a thorough examination of an older system like this before committing to buy an older house.
Or the importance of having the right person and company come out and do it for you.
{Well, maybe Jamin did. But I was house blind, in love. Ready to dive in without considering the hard stuff.}
He was like that patient person you need at a time when you’re standing on the edge, wondering if you should make the leap. He was that person who saved us from making some big mistakes by not considering some things we needed to consider.
It wasn’t the magical, money-saving answer we were looking for when he came out, but he gave it to us straight. And for healthier lungs and healthier children and for the choice of living in an older home and what that means, he made us think critically.
And for that, we are forever grateful.
So, Service Experts. And the stellar, above and beyond representative in Mr. Bruce.
We can’t speak highly enough of how patient he was with us through this entire process. And how grateful we were for him that day. Thank you.
Pssst: here’s an adorable video to check out from Service Experts about things to consider… refresh if it’s not loading. And you can totally get some major tax stuff right now on a new system… because it’s kind of a big deal. Check all that out here: {tax credits 2016}
Have you made the dive to purchase an older home?
What are some things you were so glad you had checked out? What are some surprises you had?
We’d love to hear your perspective!
Oh my goodness that is a beast of a unit! I can only imagine the stress of thinking of going through a big choice like this. Someone like Bruce is so important. I need a Mr. Bruce!
I simply love this post and I love Mr. Bruce, even though I haven’t met him! I’m so excited to see what y’all do in your new house, I literally can’t wait. We also just moved to a new city and bought an older home. We need someone to look at our unit and probably replace it I think I know who I’ll check with first, do you think Mr. Bruce travels?
Awe thanks so much, Terra. Right?! Mr. Bruce should have his own T-shirts. We seriously love this man.
This is interesting. We brought a house in England that was built in 1900 (not unusual at all) and we had my parents to have a look and we loved it, problems (only had a couple and they were caused by the previous owner and his botch jobs) and all. But we are so daunted with buying a older house in Canada (we moved over a few years ago now) the systems are all different so are debating buying new, oldish or somewhere in between. We don’t even know what we are looking at half the time, plus everyone seems to think going old is insane … I’m so intrested in how you do in your house. Good look, I am loving reading about the house x
We had no idea what we were getting into. We really didn’t. My brother looked at me when he came to see the house, and he said… wouldn’t you guys be better off just buying new? {cue all the laughy faces emojis} It’s a handful but we’re obsessed with making it ours. You’re not alone. Thank you so much for your sweet words!
Having that help really is a comfort! We purchased our home completely house blind and infatuated. It’s 32 years old but built as a 17th century saltbox house replica. Looked like a 200+ year old farmhouse but actually only 30 years! What could go wrong? Well many things unfortunately. The biggest thing was a monstrous dinosaur of a gas/wood burning conversion furnace that died two months after we moved in, when it was 15 degrees out in January. We thought “how cool, we can use it if the apocalypse (or whatever)comes and there’s no gas, lol”. But when the furnace guy came and laughed bewildered and said he’d never seen anything like it and to get parts it would cost $1000s and he wasn’t even sure he knew how to fix it, the romance was over. It took 5 guys to haul it out of the basement. And we needed a whole new system. Well we unfortunately bought this home at the top of our budget, so the remaining renovations and upgrades are taking years to finish. I love the charm, uniqueness and quirkiness of this sweet home, but feel much older and wiser a few years in! We had never owned an older home or acreage, owning both has been a labor of love, sweat and a few tears!
Oh my goodness! I can’t imagine! It’s scary but sounds so amazing. And so worth it! And yay for apocalypses!!!
HI! 3 years ago we purchased a now 43 year old home. We didnt make any changes until this year (living through the remodel as I write this). The HVAC was the first thing we tackled last week. It was the original and was replaced, duct work moved, old units removed, etc. Next week, new sliding doors and 2 new kitchen windows go in. New flooring and new kitchen go in a few weeks later. BUT…we love this house! 🙂
We bought a home that was built in the 50’s and didn’t even think about the HVAC until we were going through the inspection and they said we needed to replace that STAT because of raised CO2 levels in the basement. Eww! I totally get it and so happy you have someone who is so helpful! It’s the best piece-of-mind knowing everything will be ok because you understand it!!
My only suggestion to you–If your Realtor can get you an OLD REPUBLIC HOME WARRANTY, take it, even if you have to pay for it yourselves. Their customer service is wonderful. They have replaced an A/C unit and microwave, repaired my kitchen stove, and replaced parts on my washing machine. I renew it every year.
I don’t have much perspective to share, though we are also about to move into an older home (40-50 years, I’m not exactly sure.) It’s the house I grew up in, and my parents have had it up until now. They’re renovating an out building on the property into a one-bedroom apartment for themselves, and we’re taking over the house. Thankfully I know that the HVAC was just replaced and the roof is not quite five years old. We’re going to have to replace all the windows, though–they’re pretty useless!
I’m really looking forward to following along on your journey with this new (old) house!
I am glad you found a good company and got a good inspection. I had used one called Pillar to POST AND THEY DID LOUSY, AND IT COST ME A LOT TO FIX WHAT THEY MISSED.