While driving around the area, I take notice of the lovely old homes and barns in the country. Since I've become a Real Estate Agent, I've paid close attention to the homes in the area. I like to know about what's in the area so that I may be able to better inform my clients. My expertise is in horse farms. Since the open spaces are getting to be less and less around here, I need to know what areas the farms and acreages are located. Whenever a new listing comes up in this area, I try to make a drive by to check it out. My prospects appreciate it when they ask about a property in area XX, I am at least able to tell them that I know of a property or two listed there and tell them some basics about them. If they are interested in hearing more, I check out the details on those properties.
Anyway, in my drive bys, I like to look at the older homes and farms. Personally, I am more partial to the old homes and barns. I think they have a bit more coziness and charm. I also like the sturdiness that they have. Their structures are quite solid, unlike the new homes they are slapping together today. You can see a lot of work went into the older homes, and as long as they are maintained, they will last for a VERY long time.
I find it to be a shame to see some of these older homes and barns being let go and some of them even collapsing from neglect. These places have lasted through years, some even a century or two, of history. The new homes won't be able to do that. If you look, some of them have parts (like the roofing shingles) falling off during a bad storm in less than a year of completion. The owners also seem to have many other problems in these homes. I don't think that this is the type of home that will even last 25 years much less a century. What is hard to believe is that in some instances these older homes are torn down to make way for the new construction. Why destroy something as rugged for something that won't last? These homes can be updated and modernized, and they will go another century with maintenance.
Because we live in a "throw away" society, the concept seems to be, if it's old, destroy it, even if it is structurally sound, and replace it with something new that will fall apart on its own. No one seems to care if things will last, only if it is NEW. What a waste to see the craftsmanship be destroyed from years ago, when they believed that homes should last for years to come.
