You see your dream home for sale on the side of the road and you start immediately dreaming of beautiful interior design and furniture placement. However, before you invest in any building, inspecting a property is essential. Depending on the state of the building, the price you are paying for it could be a lot more than what you should be paying. At other times, inspecting a property can reveal problems that might actually be enough for a buyer to cancel the transaction altogether. To make sure that you are not making a bad investment, here are a few tips and points to keep in mind regarding inspecting a property.
You Really Do Need to Get a Professional Inspection Done
There is just no way to go around this one, unless you are willing to bet hundreds of thousands of dollars purely on luck. The experienced property inspectors at CLASS Home Inspection have the necessary qualifications and decades of practical knowledge to detect hidden problems and estimate repair costs, which is something that the average buyer simply cannot do unless they have similar experience. Of course, those of us with a bit of knowledge can detect some of the signs and symptoms that we are going to discuss next, but to estimate how bad things are, what the repair costs would be and to present everything in a detailed report is just something that you need to leave to the professionals.
Look Out for Pest Infestations
A few spiders or bugs are pretty much expected and isn’t anything to worry about, but a full-blown infestation can be a huge problem to deal with. Check to see if the house has any of the following signs of pest infestations.
- Rats, lizards, bugs and all other animals leave behind droppings, so look for those
- Look for unexpected holes, claw marks and gnaw marks on the walls, ceilings or floors
- Dead/alive bugs, rats, etc.
- Piles of sawdust (carpenter ants)
- Listen for clicking sounds, munching sounds, visibly flying termites and other signs of a termite infestation. You can check out this article for a more comprehensive guide on signs of termite infestation.
- Bad or weird odors from unexplained origins (mold)
- Check under floorboards and inside visible cracks for bugs
Cracks are a Bad Sign
Ignore a few small cracks if they are there, but look out for large, foundational cracks in the basement.
Doors that Don’t Close Properly
A finished basement may not give you the opportunity to see the cracks, so in that case, you need to check the door frames of the house and see if the doors close properly. If they don’t, consult a structural engineer for further inspection.
Check the Water Pressure
Checking the plumbing is not something that we can do on our own, unless we have the knowledge and the equipment for that. Nonetheless, turning all faucets and showers in the house at once is a great way to check the water pressure.
There is also the question of detecting lead paint and asbestos in old houses, checking the electric lines for potential dangers, inspecting the roof, keeping an eye out for water damage and so much more. Some of it might be obvious, while the others will likely take an expert eye to be detected.
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