How Old Is Too Old To Buy A House...

I've been a home owner since 1987 and June first I moved to an apartment because my husband left looking for greener pastures and being disabled I was not able to climb stairs and look after a huge yard. I cried for days. I miss my house and all the privliages that go with it. My apartment is nice as nice an apartment can be, I keep it clean and it looks good but to get anything done is like trying to pull hens teeth. The toilet leaked since I moved in and this weekend I paid for a toilet and had it put in because I wanted a high rise toilet. I had to ask 5 or 6 times to have washers put in the kitchen tap, it leaked making more noise than a grandfather clock, finally I put it in writing that tap had to be fixed. They did finally do it. Grrr. I very much doubt I will ever be in a position where I own my own home again but I can tell you for absolutely sure I would Never consider buying a home at age 72, I'm 59 this year and I think it's time I give the idea up now let alone in 13 years time. Take Care my friend.

You can't get too old to buy a house. I'm 70 and owning a home is just as important to me now as it ever was. I enjoy getting out in my own yard and playing with the dog or the goat if I had one or planting a garden. The main thing is on my own place I can have what ever I want. I have been jammed up in a trailer park for the past 4 years and I'm ready to get the heck out of here. I don't like it when my neighbor can sit in his living room looking out his window into mine. I grew up a farm boy and I still like my elbow room. Buying a house out in the country might not be the best thing for me right now because I can't take care of one the way I should but I can sure as heck enjoy trying to. When you reach my age you get tired of having someone telling you what you can and can't do on your own place. If you live within a city limits that is exactly what they will do. Art

I would say that you are never too old to buy a house. Perhaps she always wanted to have one, but for some reason either did not make enough for the downpayment, the mortgage, or she was disqualified from getting one, she helped her children so much by giving them money, or she wanted one and her husband kept saying "no." I go by the last one. Men can be so stubborn sometimes. I would say for those who are elderly, or disabled, if they have enough money to pay for it outright, plus for the disabled to get one that is fixed up for disability, get one. Just make sure that there is just a small flower patch and a small berry or salad patch and it is not that large unless you are like me, and love fixing up the garden and vacuuming the floor, doing the lawn mower and picking fruit off the tree. Most old people who did not get a chance to buy a house until they were up in years never bought large houses. Middle aged people buy large houses. The old people bought small houses with two bedrooms and that is because they wanted a place of their own and usually they had a small yard. In fact I know a middle aged single lady (THEN) who bought a small house. Us, we bought a house 6 months after we were married, and for some reason always bought the same sort of house, only a little better made. My children already have their own houses, so when I die, I will make sure that one of my friends who does not have a house would be the first to put a bid on it. The advantages is that if the house gains in value, when you sell it, you will have equity. But you have to be sure that you get what you can afford and do not count on the mortgage being tax free. Think of the whole property value. That is what we do up here in Canada.

I don't think you are ever too old to buy a home as long as you are able to afford it and maintain it. Alot of people can buy a home and set the payments up so they can pay it off in a few years or sometimes people save their money and pay cash for one.

We do own our house; making payments of course. Well when we bought our house we only saw pro's and had no idea on the expenses.... especially myself. I grew up in an Apartment and it stunk. Partly because you didn't always have somewhere to play outside and you move every couple of years if the situation gets bad or they raise the rent too high. However we bought a fixer upper and the repairs and upgrades were beyond our means especially since I've been a SAHM. I agree that the 72 yo should probably not be looking to move into a house unless she's thinking of using it as a cushion to pay burial expenses or leave something to her kids. She will then probably need to hire out services for the lawn ect depending on her abilities. I dunno what will happen to this house when we pass on, I imagine it'll be sold or town down depending on how things go at the time. I do expect to live atleast another 40+ yrs so it's a bit early to speculate.

I think there is no problem with buying a house when your old, tho i do believe that i is best to buy a house and when your old settle down untill oyu passaway without moving again.

My parents owned their home out right for many years, then hurricane Katrina came along in 2005 and they had to purchase a new home which they did in 2007. My parents are no spring chickens - my mom just turned 65 and my dad is 67. As long as you can afford the house and - if you are older - have someone willing to take over payments or have an "out" if you can no longer pay, then you are never too old to purchase a home - if the bank is willing to give you a 30 yr loan. If you think about it, thats sorta crazy. My parents were int he their 60's when they got a 30 yrs loan, granted the house is alreayd paid for now due to insurance money and what not, but to give a 60 year old a 30 year loan, thats a pretty big risk.

First 54 and 41are not too old. And second,you are never too old to follow most dreams.I mean you can't become a premier ballerina at 50 but there are many other dreams that you are never too old.If you always wanted a house, then not having children or being 72 shouldn't stop you.If you get to enjoy it for just a week it is worth it.

No I don't have a house. I did many years ago with my first husband. These days even if I wanted one I could not because I don't have money for the downpayment. It can be a good investment for some. But I wont live long enough to enjoy it.

When I pass, my home will be sold and the proceeds will go to my estate.

I bought my first house two years ago, at 53. I don't know if it was a good move or not, but I love this house. It's not huge and not fancy, it's 86 years old with a nice fenced yard for my two dogs and 3 bedrooms for when my grown sons come to visit or when my mom spends hurricane season with me. I think it might be foolish to buy a house at 72! How in the world will she keep it up? There's yard work, inside maintenance, taxes, etc. I don't think I'll ever own another house if I ever sell this one, it's a lot of work and expense. You and your husband are wise to consider your needs compared to what you want.

No never owned a house! I always lost it in marriages. It used to take about thirty years to pay off a house. How long does it take now? I think 35-40 is about old enough. I think the woman you mention that is 72 is just too old. Sadly. People are living to be older but still......??!!

Maybe that 72year old just really wants something to call her own. You never know, she may live to be well over 100 and actually live to pay off a home. In my opinion, you are never too old to try to reach your dreams. My husband and I are currantly renting a house for us and our children, but we do want to buy or preferably build a home in the realatively near future. We have been looking around, but I want to try to save until my kids are all in middle school before we actually buy or build. My reasoning is that there are too many different elementary schools in this town and even a slight move would put the littler ones in a different school, but when they get into middle school, it is only one school. I think that the best thing for them is to keep them at the school they are at and wait to buy or build. On the plus side of owning a home, once it is paid off, as long as the taxes are paid, it is yours. You do not have to worry about having to move from there. On the negative side, you have to do all of your own maintainance and have to worry about insurance and taxes.

I feel like people have different opinions based on their desires. Some people find apartments too small and like being able to go to their back yard. Some people don't want to deal with the responsibility. I don't know how big your apartment is and I don't know your complete situation so I can't say what I'd do if I was in your shoes, but I think personally even if I was 60 I would still buy a house. I could get someone to do yardwork. I could hire someone to do repairs. Those things don't bother me. If I was older I'd buy a one story house so I wouldn't have to worry about stairs as well. I just like the larger size and the knowing that it is something of my own. To me it is just something more than a place to live.

Well it is never too old to have a house of your own yea . But it is always good to start early trying to save a lump sum of money to buy a house of your own yea , of course don't take too much loan that you know , you can never pay back yea .

I think any age is ok to buy a home as long as the person or couple are mentally and physically able to take care of the upkeep. We bought our house when we were in our late 20's. We still live in the same house, after 40 yrs. of marriage. We hire any yard work such as mowing or trimming bushes and trees. Gets too hot in our part of the country to keep up with it and we are getting older. Eventually we plan to move to a condo. Our house will be left to our three kids when we die. They can split the profit or do whatever they like. We are content with our neighborhood and location which is why we stay. Only thing that bothers me about owning a house is the responsibility that comes with it when it comes to repairs. We have neighbors that bought a home in our neighborhood who are probably in their early 70's. A service cuts their lawn also.

I don't mind not buying a house too.. but if ever I find the need to like an extended number in family members or suddenly everything seems too cramped or what and something is not beyond my means, I'll definitely buy. I don't see the wrong in buying a home at any age, but that lady whom you have mentioned; 72 years old and all, hmmmm, I was wondering what was her intention, really. Probably it's listed in her to-do list for her lifetime perhaps. All in all, it would be great to have a yard of my own too, but I can pass that off as long as I'm happy.

Well, I started out my life on my own in an apartment, as most young, 19 to 20ish people do. I had roommates. Roommates were bad. I won't expand on that. Having my own apartment was lovely but it was small and I was alone. I moved to my first husband's house about 6 months before we got married. We bought a new house 2 years after. I got divorced and moved in 2003, and my current hubby and family and I have a house. Since I'm used to living in a house, I would probably never go back to an apartment. It's true that when you own your own house, you have to do all of the maintenance and all the yard work, and of course take care of things on the property like a pool, a driveway, a garage, patio, etc. You have to deal with your own plumbing and fix burst water pipes and deal with problems from septic tanks... you have to repaint and reseal things, spray for bugs, and it's up to you to replace flooring or cabinets or lighting fixtures, AC and heating units, the roof, if necessary. If you want a fence, you have to build it. However, it also means you can decorate how you like, landscape your yard however you like, paint, repaint, put up walls, tear down walls. As long as you don't live in a neighborhood with an HOA, you don't have to keep things to a certain specification in order to make your home look 'just like your neighbors'. I personally like the privacy afforded by a large house on a large property, with a nice 7 foot tall security fence all around the back. I like the fact that there are no noisy people banging on my ceiling, making noise through the wall, etc. I feel that apartments are best for single people, folks who travel a lot (and thus would be overwhelmed with the upkeep and maintenance of a house/property if they aren't home much anyway) or older people who may not physically be able to keep up with a property. I feel that having a house instead is one of those things young families or some young professionals like to have - a private place to spread out, with a yard for kids, for entertaining and bbqs, maybe for pets. Also people who have older kids or grown kids who still live at home or near home - most apartments are not large enough to have anything to set up as a guest suite for visiting grown kids or other company. I don't think you're too old to buy a home unless you're already retired (and haven't done that yet) or plan on retiring soon and don't have much to put down. I guess it depends what your intentions are for the house after purchase - living in it alone - or sharing it with grown kids or giving it to them after you pass away. It also depends on how financially stable/secure you are.

You are never too old to buy an house unless you are able to take care of it and to pay for it. if you are very along in years, you simply will it to a family member.

Well i do think the earlier you have your own house the better . Actually in our country if parents don't support their children when they get married they won't afford to buy an apartment not even to a house . It's very expensive to buy apartment and house everywhere around the world . A lot of peopel become the house slavers . It's really painful to buy a house for twenty or thirty years . What's the world we are living ?