6 Things to Inspect Before Buying a House

6 Things to Inspect Before Buying a House

When buying a house, you want to know exactly what you are getting. It’s a big investment and you want to make sure that you are making a good one. When you are excited about the process and the house you are looking at, you can easily overlook things that should be red flags to you.

The Inspection

When you are buying a house you want to make sure to take the time to look at some key areas of the house yourself. If you are obtaining a mortgage for the house, you will also be required to have a professional home inspector look at the house. This will help assure the lender that the house is a safe risk to invest money into.

Here are 6 things you want to inspect before buying a house.

1. Foundation – The foundation is what the entire house is resting on. If there are cracks or damage in the foundation it could impact the entire house. You may not know what you are looking at when you look at the foundation itself, but here are some key things that you should look for when walking through a house:

• Unlevel floors
• Cracks in the walls
• Doors that do not open and close property

And of the above items could be an indicator that there is a larger problem with the foundation. Problems with the foundation are often very costly to repair, meaning you may not want to purchase the house.

2. Roof – Obviously the roof is an important part of your house. Ask the seller or agent when the roof was replaced and what type of shingles were put on. This will help you determine the life remaining on the roof before you need to put on a new one. You also want to look for any areas of water damage, like discoloration or bubbling, in the ceilings of each room. This can indicate a past or current issue with the roof.
3. Insulation – The better insulated the house is, the lower your heating and cooling bills will be. You can simply look in the attic to see how much insulation is up there and also ask what rating insulation was used in the walls if the seller was the one that put it there.
4. Paint – Sellers are required to disclose if the house was built prior to 1978. If it was, there is a chance that there is lead paint in the house. A house built before this time could also have other potentially hazardous materials in it.
5. Electrical – When you get into rewiring an entire house the costs will add up quickly. Find out when the electrical was installed or updated and also make sure that it was completed with permits. You want to make sure the work was done properly so there are not issues or problems down the road.
6. Plumbing – Look for signs of water damage around the house. This could include water stains on the walls or floors, or mold growing in areas near plumbing. Water can create lots of expensive issues with both mold and deteriorating building materials.

Make sure that you are present when your home inspector is going through the house. You can ask questions if you see things that seem odd, and you can hear the explanation for the things that will be included on the report. Do not hesitate to ask if you have questions after the inspection.