Buying a house?

One of the absolute saddest miseries to me these days is that so many people buy brand new homes when there are beautiful homes already out there.

I went to college in Des Moines, Iowa, which is home to the Salisbury House. It is hands down my favorite attraction in Des Moines because it is this grand castle-like home that is completely filled with amazing antiques and treasures. The last time I went on a tour, the tour guide said that Carl Weeks, the man who dreamed up Salisbury House and commissioned its building, was green before green was cool.

Weeks had reused numerous materials from around the world to help create his home, but the most important aspect of this lesson is that he also incorporated the trees from his own property in the home. These trees were being torn down to make way for his grand house, so why throw them out? He built them into the home, as well as bricks from Des Moines' streets that were about to go to waste as well.

This makes us stop to ponder quite a bit about modern home buying. Obviously, in recent history the housing market has been in a complete crisis because there have been much too many homes built for people who don't truly need them.

I also watch a LOT of HGTV and see quite frequently people who are wanting a new "green" home, which maybe has bamboo floors or energy-saving appliances, but wasted all kinds of lumber being built!

If you are in the market for buying a house, you can 1) get an older home cheaper, 2) use that extra money to properly insulate the house and buy the appropriate "green" features and 3) my personal favorite, enjoy the natural scenery that has grown around your home. I absolutely hate new homes because they never have trees! It's ridiculous!

Not that I want the construction market to completely crash, but think of all the buildings that people simply don't want anymore that could be fixed up with little resources, versus the extreme waste involved in new development projects.