Old House? New House? Weighing Your Options

Maybe it has something to do with a childhood home we fondly remember. Many of us long for old homes built with solid construction, quality craftsmanship and beautiful details. We wax poetic and wistfully recall the hand carvings, plaster walls and eyebrow dormers of homes we've known. On the other hand, how do the old homes we admire compare with newly minted models-and what should we consider before deciding which to buy?

Location. Typically, old homes sit on generous plots of land in or near town. The neighborhoods are established and usually more central to schools and shopping. Mature trees and plantings provide shade and beautify the property and neighborhood streets. New homes are generally found in new developments outside of town and homeowners who buy into an early can expect to contend with dust and construction sights and sounds as the remaining phases are being built. Landscaping may be skimpy or nonexistent, but a buyer has the opportunity to design the décor from scratch.

Layout. New homes tend to have a more spacious functional layout with higher ceilings, bigger windows, family kitchens, walk-in closets, and family rooms. Some even have media rooms and come pre-wired for cable and computers. On the other hand, older homes were designed for a more formal lifestyle, which is reflected in the formal dining and living areas and many cozy rooms, including small bedrooms, closets and bathrooms.

Energy efficiency. Those eight-over-eight single pane wood windows add character to an old home, but even with storm windows, they're not nearly as energy efficient as modern dual-glazed or thermal windows. While most old homes lacked insulation in outside walls and attics, homes built today insulate against high heating and cooling costs. Although the bigger windows, higher ceilings and larger rooms, common in new homes, can also cause high utility bills.

Maintenance. With older homes, upkeep could be more expensive because of older appliances, plumbing and electrical systems-not to mention the roof-may need to be replaced. A turn of the century home may have outdated knob-and-tube wiring, and even a recently built home may have an inadequate fuse box-style panel that falls short of the energy demands of 21st century families. But new homes generally come with warranties that will cover the cost for most major problems.

Price. Older homes are usually less expensive per square foot. In addition the tax structure is more predictable because the neighborhood is already established with amenities that newer neighborhoods are still in the process of gaining, such as schools, police and fire services, and infrastructures (roads, sidewalks, etc.). However, with restoration costs a possibility for older homes, your dollars may very well be spent on the back-end rather than upfront.

If the charm and beauty of an old home wins your heart, hire an inspector to evaluate the home for lead paint, insect and water damage, lead and/or galvanized pipes, outdated wiring, foundation problems and energy efficiency, including windows as well as heating/cooling systems and insulation. After you get the all-clear, you have one last consideration: Does the home fit your lifestyle or would the conveniences of a newer model suit you better? Only you and your family have the answer.

Neda Dabestani-Ryba is a licensed Realtor in Maryland. She is a member of the President's Circle of Top Real Estate Professionals. She can be reached at (800) 536-3806 or visit her website for more information: http://neda.dabestani.pcragent.com/ Prudential Carruthers REALTORS is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial company. Equal Housing Opportunity

Broadway north of 96th Street was once a vibrant but shabby area and before that it was farmland.

A cabin in Heber City, Utah, a Gothic revival in Seneca Falls, N.Y., and a condo in Milwaukee.

Adam Levy lives in a 10-story building that he converted into seven spacious floor-through apartments, including his own duplex penthouse that he finally completed last fall.

Surrey, a county to the southwest of London, suffered a real estate setback in 2008, after years of steady price increases.

Only about 100 of 790 buildings that are eligible for hourly prices have opted for the Con Ed service.

Backers said Northwest Florida Beaches International would bring new businesses and residents to the Florida Panhandle; critics said it would also bring environmental problems.

Renters were a godsend when the market went into hibernation. But now that buyers are stirring, some owners wish their tenants would just go away.

A bedroom door: That’s what Meghan Galewski and James Gonzalez wanted most.

Vinegar Hill is nudged into a corner of the waterfront that seems, at least in part, forgotten by time.

Little more than a week after buying an apartment Arash Yomtobian’s employer, Lehman Brothers, announced plans to declare bankruptcy.

Building is stalled as the Port Authority and the developer, Larry A. Silverstein, debated how much government should invest in private development.

The Obama administration will offer homeowners $1,500 to sell for less than the mortgage balance.

A city agency and nonprofit groups build or rehabilitate moderate-income housing, then scrutinize buyers’ credit. And they avoid the national foreclosure crisis.

On 43rd Street off Eighth Avenue is a new seven-story building that offers low-income housing and affordable rehearsal space, which are both in short supply.

Since 1937 the New York Society Library, which is the oldest cultural institution in New York, has been housed on East 79th Street.

The State of New York Mortgage Agency, or Sonyma, is offering 30-year affordable-housing loans at 4.75 percent.

The phone, once a real estate agent’s primary — well, only — mode of communication with a client, is making a comeback of sorts in these lean times.

Plots in a low-key mobile-home park of 199 trailer-condos interspersed with a few stick-built shacks in Montauk Shores are available, but the structures cannot be replaced by houses.

As of April 21, Mr. Jaccom, 54, will become the chief executive of the tristate hub of Colliers International, a full-service commercial real estate brokerage company.

A look at the strategies of buyers venturing into the market shows Westchester as no longer being in free fall but still poised precariously.

Felipe Rein Acebo-Gomez bought a 1,900-square-foot apartment that came with a three-story 1,300-square-foot casita.

The new owner of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Nutopian Embassy, “a conceptual country” with no boundaries and “no laws other than cosmic,” has put it on the market.

Susie Essman has decided to sell the two-bedroom two-bath apartment at the Straus Park Condominium that she uses in New York City.

Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz, the founders of MALIN + GOETZ, a unisex skin care company, have decided to buy a farmhouse in the upper Hudson Valley.