5 Red Flags When Buying a House
Finding a home that suits your needs exactly can be difficult. You’ll inevitably have to set priorities and sacrifice some of your wants and necessities at some point. Sometimes, even when you think you’ve found the perfect house, there are warning signs you just can’t ignore. When researching a potential home, it’s probably best to go elsewhere if you have a bad feeling about any specifics.
After all, this is your dream house where you want to settle in and feel comfortable and …well, homey. Where you can entertain friends, enjoy family, or kick back and relax with your fav pastime using your Thunderbolt casino no deposit bonus on an exciting game of blackjack.
Look out for red flags the next time you go to a showing or open house that could indicate it’s time to move on. By being aware of the following red flags, you can avoid spending a fortune on the wrong property.
1. Smell test
The ability to use your sense of smell is often overlooked but can be helpful when house-hunting. It may seem strange to take a deep sniff every time you enter a new room on a house tour, but being aware of the odors in each space could save you a lot of hassle down the road.
And what is that smell? Putrid, musty, and smoky odors? Smells can indicate faulty sewage pipes, mold, smoke damage to walls and carpets, and even vermin. All of these can be hidden by staging a home to make it look more aesthetically pleasing than it actually is. Perhaps it’s just the overwhelmingly pleasant scent of Febreze. But that might also beg the question, “What is the seller trying to hide?” Always remember to employ your sense of smell when house hunting.
2. Ownership history (a high turnover)
A high turnover rate in a home is a major red flag, just like a CV that highlights a new job every year. A home with an average owner tenure of three years or fewer is considered to have significant turnover. Fortunately, household mobility data is readily available online. Until you move in, it’s impossible to imagine what it’ll be like to call a place your own.
One of the most glaring red flags you should consider is the number of owners a particular property has had in a short time. The previous owners’ short tenure as landlords raises serious questions.
3. The roof is looking rough
A roof is often the first problem missed during a home inspection. The beauty of the outside and the promise of what’s inside draw most buyers in.
Curled shingle edges, missing tiles, cracked or shattered shingles, and roofing debris in the gutters all indicate that a property may require a roof replacement. Even if, worst-case scenario, a new roof is needed, you might still want to consider purchasing the home. To that end, you should factor in the price of a roof replacement. Costs vary based on factors, including roof area and material preferences, but roof replacement is costly.
4. Floors that are uneven or bouncy
No house is perfectly flat. But because of settling, some are flatter than others. If you’re going to an open home, bring a marble and scatter it on the floor in various spots. The longer a house has been standing, the more likely it is to have uneven floors. Sometimes, a home may settle unevenly, resulting in a hump in the middle.
Repairing deflections can be expensive since it often requires removing the flooring, adjusting the columns supporting the floor, sourcing a new one in the same color and pattern, and finishing everything to look like the original flooring. There might be a requirement for foundation work if the floors are very uneven.
Older homes, especially after they have settled, will inevitably have floors that are not perfectly level. In fact, the foundation of an older house can be more stable than a brand-new one because of the passage of time and the earth’s movement.
You should be fine, assuming the prior owner installed a concrete I-beam and a steel beam for support. In any case, you should investigate the property’s past owners to ensure they’ve taken action to fortify the building’s underpinnings. Steel and concrete I-beams are reliable building materials.
5. The basement has water damage
There are a few telltale water damage indicators, even though the basement may look fine on the surface. The use of a dehumidifier is often the first tell, but there might be other, less obvious indicators.
Be on the lookout for rust on metal furniture and other signs of damage to the legs. A sump hole, black mold on the ceiling, or missing tiles near a drain are other warning signs of water damage in a basement.
While looking at a house, spring is the best time to check out the basement because water damage is more visible. The soil snow will melt from the house’s radiant heat this winter. When the soil above ground begins melting, resulting water buildup could cause extensive and expensive water damage.
In conclusion
You should know how much you can spend on a home and how much it will cost you each month in maintenance, utilities, and other expenses before you buy. Don’t forget to look for potential problems that could arise later. Finally, if you plan to renovate the home after you purchase it, start with the primary renovations.
