[GlamourGirl827]

Thank you all. Although we are hoping to put the house up for sale in the spring, we are going to go to a few open houses today. I think it would be helpful for dh to see these homes and neighborhood, rather than imagining the worst. We are going to visit a few in our price range. Hubby is actually quite excited. I think just driving through some of the areas will be a big selling point. Also most of these homes have a full basement and regular walk up attic (I don't know if that's the time period of the design used when these particular neighborhoods were build), but I think once he sees how much potential many of them have for extra rooms/space and how many have already been updated, he will feel better.

[nelie]

I'd also vote for a more established home. We went for a home built in the 80s although we could've bought a bigger, newer home further away. I'm so glad we didn't though because it would've cost us extra money in gas and I like where we live. I prefer areas that aren't pristine suburbs but are a mixture of cultures which is where we live now. The crime rate is low and the area is actually improving in terms of access to things and what not.

Anyway, one thing to think about in newer vs older homes is heating/cooling costs. A huge home will be expensive, an older home might have its own expenses such as thinner windows, doors, etc. We ended up doing a lot of energy efficient upgrades on our place including windows, doors, etc. Those are some things that you'd want to look at and save money up for if the house you buy hasn't had those upgrades.

[aryastark]

The second option for me, the area would be the number one priority, if its not a good place to be I wouldn't be happy no matter how great the house is.