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The main advantage to a newer home is that there is less damage, both from Mother and Father Nature and from previous occupants. You typically get to create your own damage or watch it happen naturally. The main disadvantage to a newer home is that you do not know what kind of damage Mother and Father Nature are going to inflict upon your house. What you see may not be what you get years down the road. The main advantage to an older home is that Mother and Father Nature have already inflicted the majority of their damage upon your house, and additional damage probably won’t occur unless major rainfall or seismic activity occurs, or unless you alter the landscaping or remodel the structure itself.
What you see is what you get. Unfortunately, you typically don’t get to create your own damage or watch it happen naturally, and there are no fond memories associated with the damage that is there. |
When a house is being built, the ground is graded and tentatively landscaped. Then, all of a sudden, boom! Settlement damage after the first rains. You might even consider it major settlement damage, even when it is common settlement damage, simply because it happened to your house. Your beautiful new home is now a wreck and collapsing around you as you sleep. This is not necessarily so.
If the house is a newer home, less than ten years old, you might notice hairline cracks develop at both interior and exterior locations, particularly at door and window corners, and typically in a diagonal manner. Usually these are common stucco and drywall cracks. Sometimes these cracks will follow the drywall seams, forming perfectly straight lines and 90° corners. |
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