New builds vs older homes in Edmonton - old house won by a landslide

I spent 6 months looking at those new infills in Oliver and Garneau, all sleek and shiny. But when I actually compared the square footage to a 1970s bungalow in Capilano, the older house gave me 400 more sq ft for $50k less. Plus the yard space in the new builds was basically a postage stamp. Has anyone else found that the so-called modern finishes aren't worth the trade off in space?

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zara_hunt3mo ago

Respectfully @maxm63, I think you can get a good look at a home's mechanicals before you buy if you bring the right inspector. That $50k savings gives you the room to upgrade things on your own terms instead of paying for a developer's markup on cheap finishes.

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maxm633mo ago

Yeah but you gotta be careful with those 70s bungalows too. A lot of them have knob and tube wiring still lurking in the walls, or aluminum wiring that's a fire hazard if you don't pigtail it properly. And the insulation is basically a joke, R12 in the walls if you're lucky. I looked at a place in Capilano that seemed like a steal until I realized the furnace was from 1982 and the windows were single pane with storms. That $50k savings disappears real fast when you're replacing a roof, furnace, and windows all at once. The new builds might be smaller but at least you know the mechanicals aren't held together with hope and duct tape.

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