Yes, new housing rules, you have to wait til your character is 15 days old, but if you can mark runes, you could still go scouting places while you are waiting. Then if you find an area you like, you can mark a rune and come back when you can place.

If I transfer an ancient character from another shard, he should be able to place a home now, correct?

I could then transfer ownership to my main character on this shard... Or are all characters you have on a shard automatically owners of a house you place?

If you have an older character (one from years ago they should be able to place) though I am not 100% sure on it.

All characters on the shard can access the house. the only thing that is not changeable without a big headache (imo) is the name of the character on the house. Whichever character you use to place the house will be named as the owner on the house sign.

I believe it is account based. So if your new account is less than 15 days old you are out of luck.

I don't have a way of testing that though.

I do know from testing ... that if you are less than 15 days old you cannot receive a house in trade.

If you want to place something like a prefab tower, do you buy a deed that says "tower deed?" And if you're placing a custom built house, you use a spyglass looking thing that is called a "house placement tool?"

Also, it costs more generally to place a house that you are customizing, right?

Deeds are no longer used, all you need is a placement tool. The tool has options for a classic, custom 2 story, or custom 3 story.

Placing the house costs whatever the tool asks. Both custom houses and classic houses have an up front cost.

For customizeable houses, you pay for every elment you add after the placement.