Buying any property is exciting! But, unfortunately, when you’re purchasing an older home, many people don’t get warned about all of the work and time that has to go into maintaining it.  These are the top things every homeowner should know before buying.

Look for Property Value Dips

It might seem nice if a property’s value dips to a surprising low: but be critical of it.  Not every state requires homeowners to disclose information; many do.  If you’re looking at a home, and it seems perfect, albeit older, and you’re considering buying it: look at its property value history.  This could mean looking at Arlington real estate and seeing a price dip a lot during a bad hurricane season.  Unfortunately, that could suggest that it’s flooded before, and your seller doesn’t want you to know.  Ask questions, and be firm that you want answers.

Maintenance Is Expensive

Maintaining an older home is extremely expensive!  If you’re trying to keep it in line with its history, you could paint your home and update it only far enough that will still allow for a classic look and feel: but you’ll have to paint and update your home more often.  There’s nothing wrong with spending money to update and take care of your home, but older home updates are more expensive than many want to pay.

Don’t Move In If You’re Superstitious.

Although most people don’t believe in ghosts, there’s a guarantee that someone has died in almost every home that’s older than a hundred years.  Going through two pandemics, several wars, and outdoing the natural lifespan, most homes have this painful secret that someone has passed away in them. So if you’re superstitious or are worried about ghosts, don’t move into an older home.

The Bedrooms are always Smaller.

The older a building is, the smaller its bedrooms are going to be.  It’s not that fewer people wanted a lot of space for their rooms; it was just seen as a waste of space.  Instead, most older homes have multiple sitting and entertaining areas and nearly no spaces that allow someone to use their bedroom as an office. So pay attention to how much space versus how many rooms a home has.  Although you could take out a wall to add to the master bedroom if you wanted, this could kill the value of your home or cause structural issues.

A Well-Maintained Home is an Investment.

Although this rule is true even for those buying brand new homes, there’s nothing that can kill off the value of an older home as quickly as letting it go into disrepair.  Older homes are more prone to leaking, poor insulation, and infestations of termites or ants. In addition, if you let a house sit for even just a couple of years without maintaining it, you build up your risk of basement flooding, roofing issues, and possible birds or small animals getting into your attic.

If you aren’t ready to commit to maintaining this home, don’t purchase it!  You don’t want to lose out on your investment.