Buying a home is an experience, one that most of us aspire to and is one of the biggest purchases we will ever make in our lives, whether buying outright or mortgaging.
Just like any big purchase, you want to ensure you are getting good value for money and quality, which is why it’s important to have every small detail of your new home inspected prior to signing contracts and moving in.
Even a small unnoticed defect in the foundations or the roof can cause potentially thousands in repairs if it is allowed to go without notice.
Not every fault, defect or flaw is going to be visible and in fact, if someone is trying to encourage a fast sale, these things might be temporarily covered up or hidden from view.
The basic maintenance of a property can give a good insight into the rest of the structure, such as the cleanliness of the decor, cracks in the walls and how well door and window hinges work.
While these sorts of things don’t cost a huge amount to repair, they could be an indication of a property that hasn’t been looked after and could have some worse horrors hidden away out of sight.
A home’s foundation must be structurally sound to provide your building and family with a safe environment. While some foundation repair issues are not structurally threatening to your home, they can still become a nuisance over time.
A home foundation inspection is when a structural engineer or foundation repair professional inspects your home for signs of settlement, heave, or damage.
Here we’ve provided a list of the things you should definitely get a second opinion on when looking to buy a new home:
Roof & Attic Spaces
Out of sight but not out of mind, the roof and attic spaces are the first defence against the external elements including the heat, cold and damp. A hole in the roof can lead to damp which can cause mould, encourage pests to move in and even lead to the structural defects that can bring your entire roof space down on top of you.
Working at height isn’t for everyone and roofing professionals who have received a suitable qualification at a designated access training centre are best placed to provide advice on the quality of your potential new roof.
Basement & Cellar Spaces
A basement or cellar is a great additional space for your home that can potentially provide additional entertainment areas, add extra bedrooms to your home or can simply be used as storage space.
Basements can be prone to damp however and should be carefully checked in the darkest corners and any side areas to ensure there isn’t any damp or mould growth going unchecked.
Crawl space mold spores can enter your home through open cavities in the sub floors for the plumbing and electrical wiring, register vents, inside accesses or heating and air conditioning systems. Don’t let your crawl space cause you and your family health issues.
You should also check the walls and around any window and door frames for cracks that could indicate structural instability but keep in mind the age of the property which could just be the result of the property settling.
Windows and Doors
Aside from the quality of hinges on windows and doors, there are a number of things you should check around doors and windows to ensure they won’t cause issues after you move in. What glazing do the windows have, single, double or triple? Does this glazing affect the quality of life in the home such as letting lots noise pollution bleed in?
To check this for yourself, it’s recommended to visit the property at different times of the day where possible, particularly during school let out time and rush hour. Make sure to check around frames for cracks, damage or poor maintenance and ask the current homeowners about fitted locks and the available keys.
We have outlined these aspects of a property to check as it is more common to investigate other areas of your potential new home such as working plumbing and electrics as standard but it’s easy to overlook the bits that you don’t think about or see as often.
The most important thing is to take your time and be careful, try not to rush any steps in the process and get professional advice for each stage so you can be confident in your decisions.
Happy house hunting!
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Know the history, too!
Great read. Thanks for sharing!
Nice post
Hey thank you, these tips are really important and always need to keep in mind to buy the perfect home.