Time can add a certain amount of charm to a property. For example, it can make a cottage more homey or a mansion more elegant. Charming homes can make great property investments. However, time can and will ravage a house. It can lead to ruined roofs, leaking pipes and outdated electrical systems. All these things can pose a problem to current and future owners of the property.
According to experts, America’s housing stock is getting in on their years. In 2016, the median age of houses in the United States was 37 years. This means that half of houses in the country are older than 37 years, meaning they hailed from the housing boom of the 80s.
If you own such a property, you may be wondering what you can do to revitalize your aging property.
Here are three ways you can make use and spruce up such a house.
- Sell It
Sometimes the best thing to do is to sell your old home and just buy a new one. However, you may have to spruce it up anyway just to get buyers interested. Unless you have access to a local home buying company that can take your property out of your hands for a fair price just as it is, you may have to enact repairs and wait for months before you can see a single dime and move on.
Pros:
If you sell your house, you can restart with a younger property and enjoy life in a fresher home. If you’re thinking of downsizing your living space, you can save a lot of money by moving to an apartment or similarly smaller residence.
Cons:
If your house is particularly up in years, you will need to refurbish it anyway just to attract conventional buyers. This can be costly and you may have trouble recouping the expenses in the final sale. There is no guarantee someone will purchase your home and if they do, you may be forced to settle for a lower price.
- Lean into Its Age
Just like how older adults are embracing their advanced age, so can your home find a new lease in life if you lean into its years. There’s a market for retro-inspired homes and retro-style architecture never leaves the rounds. If your house hails from a period with distinct style and architecture, refurbishing it to look as good as it would have had in its heyday may be more appealing than you think.
Pros:
Retro architecture has a large market than you think. With the right contractor, you can faithfully recreate all the fun features and oddities that make it unique. It will take plenty of research and updated building materials, but the final results can be significantly more interesting than homes built in recent years.
Cons:
The design of your home may be less appealing than you think. Fuzzy furniture, low tables and other designs from the 80s can get old really quickly. You may also have problem finding builders who can remodel your home as it used to be. Your house may also stick out like a sore thumb in your neighborhood, depending on what the designs of the surrounding houses.
- Modernize the Place
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can completely modernize your home instead. This will be a cumbersome task as you’ll have to renovate your house extensively. Have you ever wanted a house equipped with a smart home system? With improved wiring and thorough refurbishment, you finally can. Always wanted to install an air conditioning system but the walls can’t support one? If you rebuild the drywall and tear down some old features, you finally can do so. A complete top-to-bottom modernization could literally make your old home look new again.
Pros:
Your house can finally have all the modern convenience you crave, from adequate electrical sockets, new insulation or any other features you’ve ever wanted. Its market price can shoot up, if you intend to sell it in the future.
Cons:
A top-to-bottom conversion of your house will be very expensive, sometimes prohibitively so. It will also take a lot of time to do, between a few months to maybe a year. This means you will have to find another place to live while your house is being renovated.
An older home can be the only home you’ve ever known and tearing it down can be hard. These tips will help you start fresh either in the same property or with a new one. Depending on which you choose, your house can see new owners or you can give it a new lease in life.
