Although purchasing a home is an exciting experience, especially for first time buyers, it’s essential that you not let your emotions take the place of sound reasoning when making your final decision. If you are currently house-hunting, take a look below to find out what to watch for.
1. Check that Plumbing
While looking at homes to purchase, don’t only look at the surface of bathrooms and kitchens; be willing to get down and search underneath basins, kitchen sinks and around showers or bathtubs. Crucial things to look out for include mould, water damage on cabinets, shelving or walls and leaking pipes and taps.
Mould is far more than an annoying and unsightly inconvenience. It has been linked to various respiratory complaints and can cause a myriad of conditions including depression, itchy eyes and runny noses. If there are any signs of mould in the house, it may be best to move on and keep searching.
2. Inspect that Fresh Paint Job
Although most sellers give their homes a fresh coat of paint to spruce them up, those who are unscrupulous won’t think twice about using paint to cover up mouldy marks or water damage stains on walls and ceilings. In many cases, dodgy sellers will have used the cheapest paint they could find, so it will be quite easy to if anything sinister has been hastily covered up.
3. Potential Outside Issues
When buying a home, it’s not just the inside that’s important; it’s important to check around outside as well. For instance, is the home sharing a driveway with a neighbour? What condition are boundary walls or fences in? Is the property close to a business district (think high traffic volumes)?
4. Rotting Roofing
Too many potential buyers make the mistake of falling in love with the inside of a home without giving its roof a second thought – until they are presented with a coronary-inducing bill for repairs or replacement after signing on the dotted line. Asking when last roofing repairs were done or replacement was performed can also provide an indication of whether you will need to cough up for this at a later stage or not.
5. Funky Smells
Sewerage or gas smells should never be ignored, even if the seller tells you that ‘it’s a temporary problem, but it’s getting sorted soon.’ In many cases, sewage and gas systems in older homes will be in need of maintenance, especially if there are large trees close to the house or piping. In some cases, pet smells and cigarette smoke can be close to impossible to eliminate completely – unless all carpeting is removed.
To ensure complete peace of mind before signing any purchase paperwork, it’s essential to have a thorough property inspection performed. We have a professional team on hand that will be able to look out for any structural defects and other issues. If you would like to schedule an inspection before making an offer to buy a home, contact us today.
