This is going to have to be your personal preference. I would start by making a list of pros and cons on both homes. I live in a home that was built in the 1890's (montevallo). It has been completely redone- factors we have to contend with- it has been harder to heat due to higher ceilings and structure of the home, we had to make sure electricity had changed to code, our home has a crawl space that had not been insulated so we had to insulate all piping due to unprocted pipes. But overall, I needed this home, it outweighed the issues. The character you find in these older homes, you cant get in a newer home. Also, these homes were not built in 2 weeks like SOME of the newer construction. If you are looking in Montevallo/alabaster/calera/helena, I would love to help you find your home. I live in Montevallo. Take care and good luck. I tell my clients... You will know when you feel at home, that is where you need to be.

Danielle Turner
Keller Williams-metro south
205-706-3551

Whether to buy an old, completely redone home in a great location over buying a newish subdivision home is completely up to you. Price should be one consideration, but location, condition of the house, neighborhood, and intangibles ("charm" of the house, for instance), all enter into the picture. So only you can answer that.

However, if the prices are reasonable for both properties, the old one has been redone properly (by professionals, up to code), there's nothing about the old one (such as an unconventional layout) that would either hinder your enjoyment of the property or potential resale), then there's nothing at all wrong with going with the old one. Personally--and this is just my own personal opinion--if the two houses were of equal value, the old one had been properly redone and was in a great location, I'd choose the older home.

Good luck.

Hello Tina,

My wife and I just went through this same decsion-making process. It was difficult, since we were drawn to two different homes for very different reasons. It can be very difficult to make a home buying decision, especially when the choices are both very attractive, but for different reasons.

It might be useful to use the "pros and cons" method to help you see clearly the benefits of each choice. Make a written list of the pros and cons for each home you are considering, and arrange them by importance to you. The older home might be near places that you enjoy or need to visit, like stores, or entertainment, while the newer home is farther out, requiring more planning, time andd gas to make the same trip. However, the newer home might have an open floor plan that suits your everyday lifestyle better than the older home. In the end, you will have to compare the pros on one property to the pros on the other and make a value decsion as to which is more imprtant to you. And in both cases you are attempting to not buy into any more cons than you have to.

Here is an example of a pros and cons list:

New Home
Pros - Great floor plan, no maintenance for along time, modern finishes
Cons - far from downtown where we love to shop, no trees in subdivision

Existing Home
Pros - Location close to downtown shops & grocery stores, lots of mature trees
Cons - Space is more chopped up than new house, more maintenance

Lising the pros and cons will help you see the reasons you are attractd to each situation and it will aid you in making a well-informed decision, which will contribute to your quality of life in general.

In our case, we decided that we value the daily convenience of being close to the places we like and need to go and the environment of a mature neighborhood more than we do a new home with a better floor plan. We also decided to build a new home some day in the neighborhood where we live now!

Hope this helps,

Dan Therrell
Fairhope, AL

The answer is in the question. Do you like rolling up your sleeves and working on a house or do you want to walk into something that you find comfortable and live there? If the question is do older neighborhoods keep their value better than new neighborhoods... the answer lies with a real estate professional who can show you the history of the comparables in the areas which you have most interest. The adage is " location, location, location "

Only you can answer that question. If the older home is completely redone it should be as good or better than the newish home. What location do you like best??