I hate to see someone go through heartache and money when it comes to buying a house! It’s fairly common for deals to fall apart at the very end because of items found on an inspection report that could have been discovered earlier in the process.
These past two weeks, we’ve been looking at A LOT of houses and a lot of those houses had problems we didn’t want to deal with. We’ve definitely narrowed down exactly what we don’t want in our next property.
So in today’s post I’m going to go over the 3 major things we look for when buying a house because they’re usually deal breakers. These are things sometimes not discovered until the home inspection when all the expense and tugging at heartstrings could have been avoided if you just knew what to look for when buying a house in the first place!
(*Please note I am not an inspector and you should always get a professional. These are simply suggestions to watch for when looking through a home and deciding to put an offer in and what price!)
Look Out for Termites
Termites can cost anywhere from $1,000 – $1,500 to treat… and that’s only if it’s old termite damage. (Yes, lots of times you still wind up paying to get a treatment if there’s signs of old damage.) I can’t even come up with a number it would cost if they’ve infested!
When we look at houses for ourselves and when I look at them with clients I always look for new and old termite damage. First, I always bring a flashlight so I can look it the joists in the basement. I typically look at the ends of the joist where they meet the foundation since they come from the ground outside.
I look for any signs of holes, tunnels or wood that looks rotten. Sometimes I stare at the joists (maybe for too long) to watch for any signs of movement by tiny little creatures.
Look for Foundation Issues
Foundation issues can be very costly and wind up causing many other unforeseen issues. Luckily, I don’t think it’s that hard to spot foundation issues in a house, especially if the basement is unfinished.
Signs of foundation issues can be an unreasonable amount of cracks in the walls and ceilings or one or two extra large cracks. Basement walls and floors are an ideal spot to look for cracks! I also look for signs of cracks that may have been filled in previously – so I look out for mortar joints that are much larger than the others.
Another sign of foundation issues are having windows and doors that don’t shut properly or simply look unlevel. Oh and don’t forget the outside! Patios, walkways and concrete slabs can very easily show a foundation issue.
We recently visited a house with foundation issues and the second you walked in you “feel” the slope of the house. So sometimes foundation issues can be a feeling!
Watch Out for Mold
There are all kinds of different molds to watch out for! The black kind, the green kind, the white fuzzy kind.
I typically look for mold in the attic, basement and around windows and light fixtures. (So pretty much everywhere.) The rafters in the attic, if exposed, can show whether the roof is leaking and can be a good indicator of how long the roof has been leaking. The darker, moldier and more rotten the wood the longer the roof has been leaking. Obvs.
Exterior basement walls and the bottom part of any interior walls or supports often are the first areas to show signs of mold. So I always take a flashlight and shine it anywhere material meets the floor and across all the walls.
When windows aren’t properly installed (or a variety of other reasons) they leak. Sometimes it can take years of leaking before mold appears so look closely!
Well, those are the three major things we look for when we’re looking at houses. And maybe some of the above doesn’t scare you but it’s good to know so you can adjust your offer accordingly!
That’s all I have for you this week! If you can’t wait until next week’s post, here are few reader favorites to hold you over until then!
How to Find a House to Flip… 5 Ways You Might Not Know of!
5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Flip Houses
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