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By Gerald Mason
The first thing many people think of when they consider buying a house is to rush down to the latest subdivision and sign on the dotted line. That may be a good idea, and again there may be other possibilities that should be investigated.
The needs of all families are not the same.
Some people are better off in an apartment; others get along better in a house, but find it more to their liking to rent. Many people find ready-built houses in a tract or subdivision the exact choice to meet their needs. Some people are content to buy older houses that require extensive repairing and major remodeling to be livable, if they can get them cheaply enough, whereas other people find it more satisfactory to buy old houses that are in pretty fair condition needing only minor repairs and painting. In either case watch your step.
If all houses look about the same to you, if individuality is not a prime consideration in your thinking about houses, if you can be satisfied with a house in a new subdivision where the contractor is building them by the dozens or hundreds, you will probably get a better value there than anywhere else. You should get more for the money with less trouble over financing and other bothersome details. The house is complete.
All you need to do is to pay $100 a month for the rest of your life. You would pay the same for rent anyway, meanwhile accumulating a large bundle of worthless rent receipts. If you buy, you are gradually building up an equity in the house by your payments. Part of the payment goes for interest, taxes, and insurance, the rest for payment on the cost of the house.
The houses offered for sale in the various subdivisions vary greatly in quality. But still, the best values in houses are often found in subdivision or tract houses where companies build houses to sell on a mass production basis.
These builders have worked out the most economical ways of building, and, we hope, pass on part of these savings to the buyers. Since they have the financing already worked out, all you need is a small down payment. You have the advantage of living in a community where the houses are all of the same age and general quality of design and construction, even if that level is not of the highest.
If a tract house that suits you is near your work, or near where you want to live, it may be the best solution for you. As you shop around trying to find the best house offered for the money, don’t be taken in too readily by flashy advertising, high-pressure salesmanship, and low down payments.
Good buys can sometimes be found with small operators who build to sell, but only a few houses a year. There is more variation in quality among small builders, and it is well to check thoroughly, as some small builders are away above average, and some far below. You might get a very good buy from a small builder.
Buying an Older House
When a house owner is transferred to another place, he will often sell his house at a reasonable figure. But remember that you are getting a house that is not exactly new. If all it needs is painting and the price is low enough so you can afford to spend four or five hundred dollars on minor repairs and redecoration, it might be a good buy.
If a house is two or three years old, the defects such as settling of the foundation, shrinkage of the lumber, cracks in the plaster, and other evidences of poor workmanship or faulty construction will have had time to make themselves obvious to the most casual observer. You can thus rely with more confidence.
Maybe you can find an older house in the vicinity where you want to live that is well arranged, that is in good condition, needing only a few minor repairs plus a good paint job to make it as good as new. If you can get it cheap, it might be a good buy for you.
But the deepest pit you can fall into is to buy an old house expecting to remodel it completely: put on a new roof, change the doors and windows, move the partitions, level up the floors, put a new foundation under the house; and of course put in new
plumbing, new wiring and light fixtures, a new heating plant, new floors, new kitchen cabinets, new screens, and new steps on the porch or, worse yet, tear off the porch and build a new entrance.
Always use a mortgage calculator to help you find the best mortgage, this can help you save a small fortune over the months.
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