re: TOS: House Buying

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They did the landscaping.

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Not here... the only trade they don't touch is electrical...

Well... I shouldn't say that... they don't dig holes anymore either. The last group that dug a 8 ft hole lost a man because the hole wasn't shored.

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kitchen budget

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You can make a kitchen look magnificent w/o spending a ton a money.

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New construction in a neighborhood full of 100+ year old homes.

Good or bad idea?

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What is the purpose of your interest? Are you looking to flip a house (less than 90 days), buy a house to rent it out, purchase a short term home for yourself (less than 4 years) or purchase a long term dream home?

New construction depreciates less per sq ft than older historic homes, plus it usually has a lot of the features that modern day buyers like (stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, HE appliances/hvac/insulation, etc...

The historic home market is really a small selective market and it sometimes matters to those buyers if the neighborhood you're thinking about is a registered historic district with registered historic homes in it.

I purchased a registered historic home in a registered historic district but with the intention of flipping it after 3 years and using the equity to upgrade even further. When I was getting the 203-K loan (specific type of loan to renovate a historic house/not a $203,000 loan) they actually used a "new" construction home not technically in the historic district but only a few blocks away as one of the comps for the appraisal. That home was actually built in '94 and renovated in '09. I met the people who live in that house now and when they bought it in '10 they said that their appraiser used homes in the historic district (which again that home was not in) for their appraisal. It was a good thing for them, b/c the historic district I'm in was really insulated from the recession, not a lot of people had to move, so inventory was low and the location is prime to the city.

So my advice to you, from what I experienced is:
if the historic homes are selling at above the market/zip code avg, then it's a good idea to get into that area. If the price per sq ft isn't doing as well, that trend might continue or worsen so it might not be a good idea if you are looking to sell it in the next 4 years. (If this is just your dream house in a great neighborhood though, go for it.)

Have you ever used zillow.com or trulia.com? zillow has some great research tools to see how houses have been selling, price per sq foot trends, etc....

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When I was getting the 203-K loan

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I've heard nothing but nightmares.

Good thing I found this because I'm graduating with Construction Management in May!!! I would say build new for sure. It all depends on your contractor honestly though. Building new gives you the luxury of picking as opposed to what could happen to a home that has been there for a while. I think new contractors are building homes much tighter than they used to which means better quality air and no creaks or noises. Glue and screw is what I say and if the contractor or his subs don't do that go find a new one. Perks to building a new home:
-Low maintenance cost everything is new
-Warranties from builders
-Options
-Energy Efficiency
Disadvantages:
-Stressful at times
-Can be lengthy
-Permits and Legal aspect

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I've heard nothing but nightmares.

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My experience wasn't picture perfect, but it wasn't a nightmare with the 203-K.

Big Positives:
I got an absolute STEAL of a deal on the home, I got the home for so little that I had twice as much money as I needed to do a real quality and full renovation.
My licensed contractor was really good, you have to have one for the flip, it's not like you can just get Tony b/c you heard he's good.
At the end of the day, I came out well ahead in home value.

Negatives:
203-K loans have A LOT more paperwork, but it's not too confusing.
You have to have the specific item numbers you want for any of the renovation money, but it's really wide open on what you can spend that money on (like light fixtures, appliances, insulation, roofing, painting, plumbing and electricial work. However, you can't just say "I'll spend $100 on a porch light," you have to have the light picked out with an SKU or item number.
The biggest pain in the arse for me personally was the 203-K Consultant that you also must get. He's a guy that comes in and inspects all the work your licensed contractor has planned and does. You have to pay for him out of pocket. Mine was an a-hole, I didn't like him, and he would seriously call me when he was drunk at Outback and try to talk about the renovation. I told him that I didn't think his slurred speech was a good indicator of his competence to make recommendations on some structural repairs he had in question, and we didn't get along at all after that.

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That's consistent with what I've heard.

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Yeah, I would imagine there are good ones and bad ones out there. I had a bad one. I understand the ideal behind having one, he's there to make sure the contractors work on the renovation is done to code (which a licensed contractor is supposed to do in the first place.) He also acts as a third party to submit approval/paperwork that the work has been completed or items installed that were paid for through the 203-K money.

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Good thing I found this because I'm graduating with Construction Management in May!!! I would say build new for sure. It all depends on your contractor honestly though. Building new gives you the luxury of picking as opposed to what could happen to a home that has been there for a while. I think new contractors are building homes much tighter than they used to which means better quality air and no creaks or noises. Glue and screw is what I say and if the contractor or his subs don't do that go find a new one. Perks to building a new home:
-Low maintenance cost everything is new
-Warranties from builders
-Options
-Energy Efficiency
Disadvantages:
-Stressful at times
-Can be lengthy
-Permits and Legal aspect

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I at this post. Is this what they're teaching in school this day and time?

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Price per sq ft in this area is strong. Well above the average.

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Make sure you are looking at sales price in the last 12 months.

Zillow etc won't tell you the date of sale unless you actually click on the property.