Again, it all depends. I can recall seeing one owner homes being sold that were over 50 years old. The whole place is out of date and needs repairs so often with these cases. So, it just all depends. I think you would maybe be more assured that someone did not buy the house to flip with some cosmetic fixes that might be covering up big problems.

One owner homes didn't mean anything to us when we were looking. The house and the shape it was in is what is important. Single owner homes where just as likely to have problems as multiple owners. So look at the house, not who owned it. NancyLouise

If the house was maintained the owners would be able to disclose more, but they are probably not under any actual obligation to disclose every repair.

The only time that the one owner makes the difference is if the owner is the builder and they can give the history of the building; ie what type of foundation was poured, what type of materials used (fiberglass insulation versus Icynene insulation etc), original blue prints available, original materal list available etc. Most owners who were not the builders don't have a clue how the house was built.

However, when the house is really old, those things don't matter because they need to be replaced any rate.

My initial, very quick response to this would be that the home probably hasn't had a lot of changes made to it. If the occupants built the home, or at least bought it new, then it probably fit their needs very well at the time. So I would think they wouldn't be as prone to wanting to knock out walls, or do remodeling that doesn't jibe with the character of the original home. So, if you're looking at a home from a particular era that would have original features that would be important to you, I'd think a "one owner home" would be one I would view.

In my mind (and because I'm an MCM girl) I would be drawn to an MCM home that said "one owner" because I would know that the owner built/chose that home back in the day, and probably continued to love the style and function of that home. He/she didn't ever feel a need to make "improvements" that weren't keeping in the style of the house.

That sounds like marketing spin to me -- You know it's supposed to be a good thing for a car, so why not also for a house?

In reality, all it probably really means is that if it looks well maintained, it probably always has been; and that if it doesn't, it probably never was. And as Jakabedy mentioned -- that it probably hasn't been extensively remodeled.

"You know it's supposed to be a good thing for a car, so why not also for a house?"

houses do not come with maintenance schedules like cars.

For the record, there's not a specific house I'm considering that says this. I've just seen it in a couple listings and it struck me as odd, because like others above, to me "one owner house" means something like "grandma finally died." Not a big plus in my book.

I was just wondering if there was some method behind the realtors' madness in touting this as a great thing. Personally, I'd rather have a "no owner" (i.e., brand new) house.

My husband and I flip houses and we like one-owner houses because they tend to be outdated and well-maintained. Just what we're looking for. I think the RE agents only put those words in the listing if that's what they mean to convey.

Just for the record, my husband is a contractor and we do high-quality work that we're proud to put our name on. I'd rather have our flip renos than some weekend DIYer any day. :)