I just purchased an Old House (1978 - Brick exterior) and I love it.
Good + Bad:
- No one cares what you do - this is an advantage as well as a disadvantage because everyone trashes the place. I posted signs all over my area and after 6 months it looks great and people respect MY space as I have cleaned it and keep it clean. No more dog shit and no more littering, they do that elsewhere but not in MY public space.
- I have a brand new water heater and I will install solar panels for electricity next year. Great stuff in Dezhou, Shandong. - www.alibaba.com/showroom/dezhou-solar.html - I cleaned the roof and have a space for my soalr panels now.
- Old construction is much better than new so the bldg (5 floors) is sound. It looks nasty on the outside but the inside can be made to each persons liking. It did not cost much as I do all work myself so I painted the stairs on my floor and replastered the walls of my floor as well. When one walks onto my floor they think they are in another residential quarter.
- I am located directly between Mian Shan Bus Terminal and Ma Jie - West bus Terminal - so the Mian Shan Forest Park is my backyard. My house is on the slope and I have a garden that grows every day. I am now growing some exotic fruits and vegetables (Yacon, Halloween Pumpkins, Not the chinese pumpkin, Jicama, I have over 5 square meters of onion, 4 meters of Parsley, Basil, Mint, over 20 meters of sunflowers, Chrysnathemums, and I have only been here 7 months. I will double that area by next year.
- 2 things can happen with old bldgs - they stay in place or they get sold to developers and they break them down - either way it is OK for me. Sept will be 1 year which means I can sell it in another 4 years and not have to pay taxes. If the area is sold to a developer I will get my money back or they will build a new bldg and we get a very good price on the new house. We can also get a bigger place as long as we pay the diff but again at a discount price. Can't go wrong either way.
- My garden is my hobby so I am busy every day. Water is free from the runoff ditches from the mountain and the rain takes care of the rest. I have a NO maintenance garden, I dig and clean the dirt 50 cm deep. I get black humus from the mountain every day and mix it in with the existing dirt. Once it gets wet after a good rain it does not need any more water. I cover it tree bark and it does not dry. There is a great video called Back To Eden which teaches you how to have a great garden without having to dig or weed at all.
I saw another place that is very similar to mine just a few km away. It is on Chun Yu road just past the West Bus Station before you get to Xi Shan. We looked at it but decided to get our place instead. The plus was that the interior was bigger and was great for a do-it-yourself type of person like me. First floor and outdoor garden. As big as you want if you are willing to dig.
- New bldgs have that nasty bush landscaping. Here I can dig to my hearts content right outside my door and grow any veggie I want. Sure can not do that in a new residential area.