Cash for Shanties

In my utopian world people would be able to trade in their 50+ year old houses for a new home that is compliant with modern building and fire codes.

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and would be willing to work with a plan that would provide incentives/help to bring an old house up to code. But I don't want to be forced or even forcably encouraged/shamed into getting a new house. Most of them are ugly and not built well, and for people that are so supposedly concerned about the environment, WHY do they CUT DOWN ALL THE TREES?? The TREES provide shade and bring down energy costs.
Give me a 50+ (really an 80+) house any day over a new one. Again, I'd gladly do the work.

Your post heading is a little misleading. The US homes you are referring to are generally speaking pretty far from shanties!

Perhaps older mobile homes would be a good focus for this.

Some older homes are quite nice. My house is over 200 years old. It's not a mansion, nor a shanty. It's a historic old stage coach station. But there are a lot of newer "old" homes that weren't built as well, or maintained, that could also be in need of replacement.

I'm in favor of ideas that can spark American industry, and make our communities a better place to live.

Our last home we sold was in the Black Hills, a hand-hewn log stage coach stop for the old Cheyenne/Deadwood stage line.

I don't think SD would have stage coach lines going back into the late 1700s.

One of my favorite relatives that I knew as a kid had lived in a sod home, Laura Ingalls-style, as a child on the great plains. I always loved to listen to him tell about those experiences.

Skipping back to NY -- my coffee hasn't sunk in yet -- I am a member of a historical society that is looking into the possibility of trying to restore two of the more interesting buildings in central NY. One is an old railroad depot that is unique (built different from any other on that line). It dates to the first years after the Civil War. The other is another stage coach station/hotel that was built in 1805. The problems associated, as you know from your experiences with old buildings, is that there is a period where if people do not begin restoration, the building deteriorates at an increasingly rapid pace. In both of these cases, I think that local folks just assumed the buildings would always be okay. There comes a point where it gets very expensive, followed by the point where it is unrealistic. I wish people had taken a greater interest years ago.

You are right , our previous home was built in 1889.
Our home now, in Nebraska includes one room that was a soddy. We would never had known as it was added onto and plastered over. The elderly woman who is 2nd person to have owned this place told us. It is fascinating to hear the stories of so long ago.

Yes you are so right. I remember as a kid in the early 60's looking at Victorian homes as we traveled in Northern California. No one wanted them. I was told you couldn't even give them away then. I would bet they were all destroyed for new homes. But what a waste.

Good luck on the two properties your considering. It is so expensive to renovate in todays world. How well I know. there are

I love old houses. In fact have owned 7 of them through my life. The oldest pre civil war. I prefer old houses instead of new ones. They have stood the test of time.

I find it interesting that people in America feel an old house if 40-50 years old but in Europe they are still selling/living in homes built in the 13th century.

My Grandmother and Aunt live in a 500 year old house, the walls are about 1 1/2 feet thick.

I have several friends in Germany and both live in 400 year old homes. I love them.

There's a trade up that would be worth my tax dollar.

than it is to change the engine in a guzzler.