House buying/owning advice

[steve dave]

I’ve owned two houses brand new and I’ll build another one someday but there is fuckin no chance I’m buying someone’s 200 year old sloppy seconds for myself and my family to live in. Grossout city.


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My current house is like 98 years old.  There's a lot of annoying things about living in a house that old.  But there's some neat things about it too.

list the neat things

[meow meow]

floors make creaking sounds when you walk

[wetwillie]

In before he says character, charm, history

[DQ12]

I’ve owned two houses brand new and I’ll build another one someday but there is fuckin no chance I’m buying someone’s 200 year old sloppy seconds for myself and my family to live in. Grossout city.


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My current house is like 98 years old.  There's a lot of annoying things about living in a house that old.  But there's some neat things about it too.

list the neat things

Our walk-in closet used to be an outside "sleeping porch" because back then they didn't have AC.  There's an old coal schute in the basement.  I think that stuff is neat.   It's neat seeing photos of our house from the 1940 county land survey ("Oh look at their landscaping!").   A few weeks ago, one of the old homeowners who grew up in that house sent me a bunch of pics of her and her friends playing in our backyard in the 70s. A lot of our stuff is original and the craftsman details from that era are cool.  There's just some stories (almost none of which I know) associated with parts of the house that don't exist for new-builds.  You can think those stories are neat or not, but I think they're kind of neat.

I do also think it's cool that it has a little bit of a lineage.  There have been 5 or 6 families occupying the house in the last century.  Taking in WWII there.  The Cuban Missile Crisis.  The '85 world series.  All these different families with different stories.  Just fun thinking about all the different crap that house has seen.

[CNS]

I grew up in a house built in 1901 AMA.

[DaBigTrain]

I grew up in a house built in 1901 AMA.

What's it like to be that old?

[Spracne]

I once lived in a house built in 1862 in Lawrence. I had excruciating pain followed by half of my face becoming numb for a month due to mold in the iron ducts. It was a very charming experience, as I chugged scotch to numb the pain (just like the old settlers!) and thought wistfully about what the original owners must have experienced during Quantrill's raid.

[steve dave]

I’ve owned two houses brand new and I’ll build another one someday but there is fuckin no chance I’m buying someone’s 200 year old sloppy seconds for myself and my family to live in. Grossout city.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My current house is like 98 years old.  There's a lot of annoying things about living in a house that old.  But there's some neat things about it too.

list the neat things

Our walk-in closet used to be an outside "sleeping porch" because back then they didn't have AC.  There's an old coal schute in the basement.  I think that stuff is neat.   It's neat seeing photos of our house from the 1940 county land survey ("Oh look at their landscaping!").   A few weeks ago, one of the old homeowners who grew up in that house sent me a bunch of pics of her and her friends playing in our backyard in the 70s. A lot of our stuff is original and the craftsman details from that era are cool.  There's just some stories (almost none of which I know) associated with parts of the house that don't exist for new-builds.  You can think those stories are neat or not, but I think they're kind of neat.

I do also think it's cool that it has a little bit of a lineage.  There have been 5 or 6 families occupying the house in the last century.  Taking in WWII there.  The Cuban Missile Crisis.  The '85 world series.  All these different families with different stories.  Just fun thinking about all the different crap that house has seen.

Ok, well, to each their own I guess.


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[yoga-like_abana]

Remodeled upstairs bathroom in our house in town 1920s build.. Bathroom vanity mirror had a slit that went down into the plaster and lathe that was filled with old shaving razors. also in the floor I found an old Manhattan Tribune paper that was used at one point and it had the announcement for Lud Fiser being hired..

[wetwillie]

In before he says character, charm, history

Nailed it

[Tobias]

Our walk-in closet used to be an outside "sleeping porch" because back then they didn't have AC.

this sounds problematic for you

[cfbandyman]

Remodeled upstairs bathroom in our house in town 1920s build.. Bathroom vanity mirror had a slit that went down into the plaster and lathe that was filled with old shaving razors. also in the floor I found an old Manhattan Tribune paper that was used at one point and it had the announcement for Lud Fiser being hired..

Incredibly common for 1920s houses, but also crazy to think that was the "thing" to do like, sure it take a long ass time to fill that up with razors but your general solution to "I'm done with this razor blade" is to toss it into the void between ways to be there for all time just seems silly.

[yoga-like_abana]

Remodeled upstairs bathroom in our house in town 1920s build.. Bathroom vanity mirror had a slit that went down into the plaster and lathe that was filled with old shaving razors. also in the floor I found an old Manhattan Tribune paper that was used at one point and it had the announcement for Lud Fiser being hired..

Incredibly common for 1920s houses, but also crazy to think that was the "thing" to do like, sure it take a long ass time to fill that up with razors but your general solution to "I'm done with this razor blade" is to toss it into the void between ways to be there for all time just seems silly.

Multiple grocery bags full of them.. was honestly impressive. between the plaster and lathe I took out of there and the razor blades I bet the house lost 2000lbs of weight

[steve dave]

wow, these old ass houses are really starting to get me hot for them in a horny way. what with the thousands of old razor blades and random freaks sending me mail because they used to live there.

[wetwillie]

Houses are like cars, they just don't build them like they used to(really shitty)

[DQ12]

i don't know why you guys are being jerks about old houses.

[nicname]

Smug exurban hubris

[star seed 7]

The newer the house the less I enjoy the vibe. Houses from the 70's+ can get mumped. The teens and twenties are peak vibe.

[star seed 7]

Also modern homes are way too rough ridin' big. Enjoy your neighborhood of mcmansions sd, you might as well be living in Plano or something.

[Spracne]

I live in an old warehouse that used to be a Southwestern Bell switching station, you ignorant fucks. Get on my level.

[yoga-like_abana]

Who was the marketing genius that thought to call vinyl planking "luxury". Think 90% of new builds have LVP or LVT.

[Stupid Fitz]

Also modern homes are way too rough ridin' big. Enjoy your neighborhood of mcmansions sd, you might as well be living in Plano or something.

agree with this. I like new houses that aren't giant and sort of look like old houses but don't have all the gross stuff.

Disclaimer, i live in an older house but have remodeled every room in it since purchase so I guess its just old on the outside?

[_33]

Yeah dlew, why don't you want to live in a treeless, soulless, beige and tan 'burb that will suck all joy and creativity from your heart?

I love old houses. Of course I am a former history teacher so I have a lot of interest in the past. We lived in a house for 2 years that was built in 1890 and I loved it. We heated it primarily using a pot bellied stove and it was great. Our current house was built in 1954 and I recently found an old photo of it right after it was built with old 40's cars lining the street. I thought it was pretty neat.

[bucket]

Ya, being in an established neighborhood (i.e. sidewalks, trees, etc.) is a plus in the older house column.

[wetwillie]

Also modern homes are way too rough ridin' big. Enjoy your neighborhood of mcmansions sd, you might as well be living in Plano or something.

The home that started this whole convo is 3500 sf feet..