Some people just know. Before they call the Realtor, they’re sure they want a classic established home, or they want something brand new. Either they love the charm that comes with an older property, or they want the latest and greatest of everything.

But the rest of us are caught between the two options of old and new houses. Will an older home be too pricey to maintain? Will new construction be as durable? And what about location — are newer homes found only in the suburban fringes?

To help you along your house-hunting way, here are some guidelines for choosing between newly minted and gracefully aged.

New construction (less than 10 years old)

Pros:

1. State of the art. No dealing with a clunky stove or wheezing refrigerator here. “Everything has a life — siding has a life, roofing has a life and lighting has a life,” says Rick Tollakson, president of Hubbell Homes, a builder in Des Moines, Iowa. If you have a newer home, replacing big-ticket items like appliances and HVAC systems isn’t as large a concern as it is in an old home.

2. Set for modern living. Great rooms and open floor plans are recent innovations that have made homes more pleasurable. Likewise, closets and bathrooms have grown significantly in the past decade, a welcome improvement.

3. Savings. Newer homes — especially brand-new homes — are built with energy efficiency in mind, which means better insulation and less money spent on heating and cooling. In addition, new construction may come with big tax savings. Des Moines, for example, offers 100 percent tax abatement for 10 years for just-built homes.

Cons:

1. Location. The best spots are taken by older homes. If you go new, you’ll most likely be on the outskirts of cities, which can be an issue for commuting, shopping and schools.

2. Ongoing building. If you buy in a still-developing subdivision, you’ll be moving into a construction site. “I can’t tell you how many flat tires I had,” Marni Jameson, author of The House Always Wins and a syndicated home design columnist, says of custom building her home. You’ll have to live with noise and debris until the development is complete.

3. Cookie cutter. Newer homes tend to look like a home you’d find anywhere else because builders “use standard millwork trim and details not associated with local environments,” says Michael Frederick of Frederick + Frederick Architects of Charleston, S.C. “All start to look like anywhere, nowhere.”

Old construction (more than 10 years old)

Pros:

1. Location. The early bird gets the worm — or the prime real estate. “Here in the lowcountry, highest above flood elevation home sites are occupied first,” Frederick says. Older homes also tend to be closer to town centers, and have established neighborhoods and even landscaping.

2. Character. Unless someone did a bad renovation job, the house won’t look like it came straight from a home center. “Owning a historic home is like preserving a piece of art,” says Amber Gallihar, marketing assistant for The Durable Restoration Company in Columbus, Ohio. They also tend to have trims and moldings unique to the region.

3. Environmentally friendly. Older homes were “designed to work with local environments,” says Frederick. “They have windows that allow cross ventilation, porches that block hot summer heat, materials from local sources that give older houses a character that seem to belong to the area.” Since these homes were built first, they were positioned to make the most of passive solar energy, which cuts down on heating bills.

Cons:

1. Outdated. No matter what renovations have been done, an old house has older parts, which could mean big bucks to fix a major system. “They have great character, which means small closets, small windows and bad plumbing,” says Jameson.

2. Maintenance. “Depending on how well the previous owner maintained the property, you might end up shelling out more money on repairs up front,” says Gallihar, though many of the materials in older homes, like copper and stone, last longer than newer options. You’re also moving into someone else’s tastes. So even if it’s functional, you may have to budget for renovations to make it into a home you love.

3. Environmentally unfriendly. While it might be situated to make the most of the environment, an older home typically needs more insulation to keep your heating dollars from flying away.

Jameson suggests not getting too hung up on new vs. old when you start house hunting. Instead, find the neighborhood you want first. “The most important thing is where is it? Is it near your work? Is it near your schools? Is it near the community center or near the lack of civilization? Then if it’s new or old — it’s a secondary factor,” she says. “You can get wonderful old and wonderful new.”