{"id":17192,"date":"2021-02-09T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/?p=17192"},"modified":"2022-01-04T11:56:30","modified_gmt":"2022-01-04T16:56:30","slug":"buying-an-older-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/buying-an-older-home","title":{"rendered":"How to Know if You Should Buy an Old Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

If you plan to buy a home, you might be looking for one with a bit more character and a lot more room for improvement. Older homes have their quirks, and they often require more upkeep and regular maintenance than a newer home. For some people, like me, the charm of an old home makes the involved caretaking worthwhile, but for others, it might become a pain in the neck \u2013 perhaps literally<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several key differences between new and old houses, so keep reading if you want to determine whether you should buy a century-old fixer-upper<\/a>, a turn-key townhouse, or something in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Should Not Buy an Old Home If\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. You Are a Perfectionist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Older homes are many things, but they are never level, square, or plumb. Old houses often have slanted floors and door frames that don’t meet at a perfect 90 degrees. They also come with walls that have inexplicably become concave over time, a flaw that you might not discover until it’s time to hang something straight, like a shelf or a kitchen cabinet. While you can handle all of these issues with some creativity and ingenuity, a certain amount of flexibility is needed when owning and working on an older property. If that bothers you, a newer home might be a better choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. You Want a Smarter Home<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you’re looking for a home with the latest amenities like USB chargers in your wall plugs, dimmable lighting, or blinds that automatically lower at sunset, an older home will be a disappointment. While most older homes will lack these “smart” home features<\/a>. they’ll often also lack features we consider basic amenities, like dimmer switches, outlets by your bedside, outlets in the bathroom or light fixtures in the closets. You can add all of these features, but it is unlikely you’ll find them when viewing a fixer-upper<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. You Want a Move-in Ready Home<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While there are fixer-uppers that have been completely renovated from top to bottom to include all of the modern amenities and perks you could dream of, most fixer-uppers require some ongoing maintenance and even some improvements. If a move-in ready home that you can leave at a moment’s notice for a vacation or work trip is essential to you, then a condo or townhome might be a better choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. You Want Your Renovations to Be Inexpensive and Quick<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You might like renovating your home, but old home renovations are rarely completed on time or budget. You may discover rotting subfloors, inadequate insulation, or, more often, something that isn’t up to modern-day code. These roadblocks will extend your renovation, make it more costly, and require a creative workaround. Renovating fixer-uppers is rarely straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, one renovation I tackled was converting my defunct fireplace to a working wood insert. The process involved rebuilding the firebox (which was too small), extending the hearth (which was too short), dealing with asbestos flooring, and finally hunting down a specific type of insert that would work with the wonky chimney \u2013 far from straightforward!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Should Buy an Old Home If\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Tiler<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. You Like a Project<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Don’t buy an older home if the idea of spending a Saturday afternoon in overalls with a paintbrush in your hand scares you. Or if you aren’t excited about spending lazy summer days digging decades of discarded nails out of your back garden or spending 18 hours scraping old paint<\/a> from an original wooden door. Old homes almost always need some improvement, and while you can hire most of these projects out, you’ll save loads of money if you’re willing to pick up a hammer and do some of the work yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, just a few months ago, the garden gate, which had been threatening to fall since I bought my place, finally succumbed to the pull of gravity. Instead of hiring out the project, I completed it myself with my partner’s help in just a few days, at a cost that was roughly a quarter of the contractor price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. You Love Heritage Neighbourhoods<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some of Canada’s best neighbourhoods are so loved because of their ample foliage, community spirit, access to amenities, and older established homes. Places like Cabbagetown in Toronto<\/a>, West Vancouver<\/a>, and Inglewood in Calgary<\/a> are full of older homes lovingly cared for by their owners. If you love the idea of living in an established community, then buying a fixer-upper is an excellent way to achieve that goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. You Love a Story<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the best parts about owning my fixer-upper is hearing my neighbours’ stories about the property and the former residents. There’s nothing that makes me feel like I’m part of history more than learning about how my property was built just down the street from or even lived through a historical event. If your neighbourhood or city has an active historical society, you may even be able to find photos or newspaper articles about your home from decades past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. You Want a One-Of-Kind Space<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Old homes are many things, but the best word to describe them is unique. Odds are, there is no place like yours in the neighbourhood, or maybe even the world. Old houses<\/a> are unique and quirky, and you won’t ever open up Instagram to see a friend or colleague in a home with the exact layout, countertops, and flooring as yours. An old house is a unique entity, and with the right owners, it can be a treasure for decades to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. You Love Old Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Older properties tend to have a ton of personality, usually expressed in ornate hardware, high baseboards, solid wooden doors, and sometimes even stained-glass windows. These character features are hard, if not impossible, to find in newer homes. For the right buyer, these details make their space unique and one of a kind and make the shortfalls of an older home worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Final Word<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Owning an old home requires more upkeep and cost than a typical new build home, but it is rewarding. Each completed project brings a sense of accomplishment. If you love working on home projects and the idea of breathing new life into an old space appeals to you, then an old home is an excellent way to build equity<\/a> in a truly unique space. If you enjoy old, character neighbourhoods and the idea of owning a piece of history, then owning a fixer-upper will be very rewarding for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, if you’d prefer your home to be just a house without the need for extra maintenance or updates, then perhaps a newer build is a smarter choice. After all, homes are expensive, and older homes require a lot of time and money in most situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you love the idea of being able to leave for vacation or a work trip with a moment’s notice, then a newer home, or even a condo, might be a better choice. And if fussing with old electrical, flaking paint, and creaky doors sounds like your idea of a terrible weekend, then maybe a new home is the right choice for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you don’t want a cookie cutter home, a fixer-upper might be right for you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":17193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"guide":[],"class_list":["post-17192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buying"],"acf":[],"zolo_excerpt":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17192"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20014,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17192\/revisions\/20014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17192"},{"taxonomy":"guide","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guide?post=17192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}