Old or New? Alberta Arts to the rescue!

I met Molly and Mike as they were just beginning the search for their first home after relocating from Boston. They had definite ideas of what they wanted and where. The only problem was that they had slightly different ideas – one wanted an old house and one wanted new.

My first rule with every client is to listen. So, as we started looking at a mix of old and new construction, I watched and listened to how they each reacted to each house. I quickly noticed a pattern – they both liked the new kitchens and bathrooms of new construction, but they didn’t like the small yards and price tags. One of them had a strong preference for old hardwood floors and original details, the other liked the outdoor space of old houses. And they both preferred the locations they could afford in an older home, versus the locations of the new construction homes.

So I helped them gather info on the costs of updating an older home, the tax implications of new construction versus updating older construction, and we toured a ton of both old and new. They slowly started to both lean toward older construction, it just needed to be in decent enough shape that it didn’t scare them away with the work it might need.

After looking for a number of weeks, on an unassuming Monday, we went to see four houses that seemed like long-shots. The second house looked like nothing much online – it was a weird chocolate-milk color, and looked really blah. But when we got there, it looked so much cuter in person! And inside, it had just the layout and level of updating Molly and Mike were hoping for. We all instantly knew it was THE house. We went to see the last two just for kicks, and then submitted their offer. And because it looked so blah online, we didn’t even have to fight for it in the height of the spring frenzy.

They got to updating right away, and are already making it their perfect blend of old and new!