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New Homes vs. Previously Owned Homes
Many purchasers get in over their head and don't realize the costs involved in renovating, repairing, and maintaining a 'fixer upper with loads of potential'. Experts caution about the pitfalls hidden behind the too-good-to-be-true price tag of an older home, advising that attractive features should be weighed carefully against the often poor insulation and construction methods of previous decades. Homes more than 20 years older were built with the assumption that heating fuels would easily stay cheap and plentiful forever. With an older home, the question is not if something will go wrong, but what will go wrong first and how soon. Time and weather take their toll. Plumbing and wiring deteriorate. Hot water tanks have a talent for giving out at the worst possible moment. Bugs, dust, and drafts find their way through cracks created around windows and doors by shifting foundations.
It's possible to estimate the amount of a renovation; the cost of the renovation versus the market return should be used to analyze this option. It is likely that there are costs that you cannot anticipate. The best intentioned plans to buy an older home and update it over a period of years often gets side tracked. Resulting in you ending up contending with something that is less than ideal. Your dream home, possibly the largest, most important purchase of your life, could end up being an expensive nightmare. Consider the fact that the housing industry has made great strides in the last decade, it is a good idea to look at buying a new home.
A new home you are greeted by clean, sunny, fresh-smelling living spaces, and the latest trends in decorator colors and materials. Advanced designs in door jams and window frames eliminate drafts that bring in dust and moisture. Improved ventilation systems carry away cooking odors quickly. Recent technology has provided new paints, wall and floor coverings in a gorgeous range of colors and textures that require minimal maintenance. Kitchens are a joy offering plenty of counter space and improved to accommodate modern appliances.
Rising property values have led designers to reconsider every inch of the home, assessing traffic patterns, task areas, and privacy needs. The result is an exciting new efficiency of space in smaller more economical floor plans. Tunnel-like hallways and ugly basements are replaced with quality, functional spaces full of natural light. It all adds up to a new home is simply more livable than homes built even a few years ago.
The most significant changes of the last few years have been in energy efficiency. Other countries now look to Canada for the technology to build energy-efficient, climate-controlled houses. Aside from the immediate cost reduction in heating expenses that you enjoy in a well-built and insulated new home, there is the added benefit of 'climate control' from attic to basement; this provides warmth in winter and cool comfort in summer. |
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