Afraid Of Buying An Old Home?

So it’s time to move. You’ve evaluated your life and the house you’re in now just doesn’t meet your needs anymore.

Now the question is, where to move to?

If you’re looking in the Utah housing market, you’ll quickly learn that this is a hot time to be buying a house.

Many homes, as soon as they are listed, have multiple offers, and some are selling at above listed prices.

However, we’re not here to discuss the housing market from a financial aspect. Today, we’re looking at whether a new house is best for you, or an old house.

If you are a senior, or coming close to it, your needs might be different than a new couple who is just starting out. So lest explore some of the home considerations from a retirees perspective.

Should you buy a new or used house?

The Pros and Cons

Buying a house can be stressful, but it can also be fun, but by the time you’ve hit 55 or older, you want a house and a community that fits your needs the best. So lets start by looking at previously occupied homes:

Used:

A used home is the first thing we look at when we have a tighter budget. Often, there is nothing wrong with buying an older home. Not only do you avoid paying top dollar, but you can also get a home with a mature landscape.

A word of caution is in order. Not all new homes are a stellar deal. Especially right now, when the market is hot, home prices keep going up across the board. Some of these homes, while looking like a good deal compared to new, are in fact more expensive.

Most used homes are sold: As Is.

This means that if there are any defects, you are responsible for fixing them. If the market wasn’t so hot, then you might be able to negotiate with the seller to fix some of these, but most likely, you’re going to be stuck with the bill.

One large problem, is that when a home is new, most people expect a very well made, polished looking product. After they live in the home for a couple years, they start neglecting things. All those occasional bumps in the wall ad up. A homeowner is not likely to notice most of these problems, since they happen over the course of several years. However, once their furniture is all out of the house, you’re left with dirty, damaged walls and dog hair that takes time to fully clean out.

So you’ve got cleaning, patching, and painting to do on your home. You’re not done yet. Every home requires some maintenance. Depending on the previous homeowner, this maintenance was either done well, done poorly, or not done at all.

You may get a great home that will serve you well for years to come, or you might be stuck holding the bag, fixing all the problems that the house’s previous owner neglected.

New:

Buying a new home is by no means a perfect experience either. You want to find a builder you can trust. Find a good one that has a track record of quality homes. The last thing you want, is for a defect in your home to create a lasting problem, and when you ask to get it fixed, you find that they’re nowhere to be found.

The nice thing about buying a new home, is that you don’t have to live with someone else’s mess. All the heating, plumbing, electrical equipment is new and should last a long time. Your home and fixtures will all have a new home warranty. You’ll also have the satisfaction of knowing that all the dog fur and dirty damaged walls were caused by you, and not some mystery person who owned the home before you.

A new home might cost a little more, but ideally, you’re not spending any more money that it would take to buy an older house and renovate it to new home quality.

Take away

Buying a used home or buying a new home is a decision you’ll have to make. For many seniors or soon to be, the idea of renovating an older home is a task that is better left for a younger couple who wants to invest a lot of sweat equity into the home.

Most likely, if you’re nearing retirement, you’ll want to leave all that heavy lifting for someone else. For you, unless your budget simply won’t permit it, a new home would make most sense for you.

Of course, you can find a home within a quality senior community, both new and used. Since we’ve been building 55+ communities for nearly 20 years, there have clearly been many homes that have been resold in great 55+ communities around Utah. I’m sure that folks who bought into those communities were just as happy with their used home there as they would’ve been with a new home.

Keep in mind though, that most of our used communities are so popular, that they sometimes have waiting lists of people wanting to move in. Our newer communities are easier to buy into.

Whichever route you choose, if you’re looking to buy into a senior community by Leisure Villas, you’ll be glad you did. Buying into a used vs a new home is secondary for many folks. Buying into a Leisure Villas Community is the primary deal. Once you find yourself looking at one of our stellar neighborhoods, you’ll know that this totally makes sense.

With 3 new communities currently being built along the Wasatch front, soon to be 5, we’re happy to show you the better life you could be living, far into your retirement.