When looking for a new home the most important thing you will hear people say is; location, location, location.  So let’s say you have found a picture-perfect area that you would love to live in… then what?  You have located several places that you feel could work, all with great schools, close shopping centers, restaurants and other conveniences.  Then you begin to think: what about taxes, insurance and cost of the purchase?  You may not have selected a picture perfect area in Martha’s Vineyard, however, it is picture perfect to you so let’s look at the cost a little deeper than just the final negotiated price of your humble abode.

No one wants to deplete all the money they have saved the past 10 years on a house and then also have to dump another 15, 20 or even 30 thousand dollars into maintenance, repairs or upgrades!  Maintenance is a huge hidden cost that many people may not consider.  The house has passed inspection: no leaks in the roof, the wiring is up to code, and the house isn’t sinking.  Nice! However, before taking a deep sigh of relief, let’s take a closer look. Some things to take into consideration are the age of the home….. Ask yourself questions like -

How old is the water heater?
How much longer will the roof hold up?
What condition is the exterior paint and windows in?
How long ago was the air conditioning unit replaced and/or how long can it be expected to last?

These answers characteristically have dollar signs following them. For instance, a roof replacement could run as high as 20 thousand dollars by itself! To top it off you find out the air conditioning unit checked out fine when you made your purchase during the comfortable fall season of the year but doesn’t even come close cooling the house during the sweltering summers.  This alone will easily add another $5K on top of your purchase price.

In the meantime, you have gotten to the point where you have several homes in mind and have a checklist with all the pros and cons which will aid you in narrowing down your financial decision. At the same time you have thoroughly read the inspections and reports countless numbers of times and you are pleased with them overall. Is there anything you could have missed? What about items that cannot be easily measured such as home efficiencies?

Have you ever noticed how newer homes seem so much more efficient than the older ones?  Does it all come down to those fancy light bulbs that require a HAZMAT team to dispose of them? Let’s take an inventory. The roof on a home absorbs the majority of the heat. Singularly, there isn’t much that can be done with a typical shingle roof other than choosing a lighter shingle color. However, by taking a deeper look you may find that an older home contains the distinctive spray-in attic insulation, no radiant barriers to block heat, little to no attic ventilation, and no fancy solar vents.

Accordingly, you find the single pane windows contain no tint and very little weather stripping. The old wooden doors on the home tend to open and close similar to the ones you would find at the entrance of a saloon.  Back tracking a little, you begin to wonder if the water heater and air conditioning are up to date with SEER ratings of 13 and above or do the water heaters contain solar capabilities or a hybrid insta-hot?  In the final analysis, these are just a few of the bits and pieces that are very beneficial to excellent energy savers that you will not find are typically discussed before the purchase of a home.

All things considered, I am not against buying an older home. In contrast, older homes are typically built much better than the new ones with far more rigid building materials and are great candidates for investments or a place you call home-sweet-home.  As can be seen there are quite a few more important things to look for when buying a home other than just “location.” Keeping this in mind, and with these tips, the purchase of your home will be much more of a blessing than a curse. Happy hunting!

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