Most homeowners look for the outside of the house to look nice and next comes inside. Potential home buyers tend to inquire about how many rooms there are, how big is the kitchen, or how does the backyard look. There are a few other basic important questions to ask or things to look for when considering the purchase of a new home. These liabilities should often make or break the decision to buy after considering the aesthetics of the property. Asking these few questions can help save homeowner hundreds, or perhaps thousands of dollars on inspections with only using a keen eye for certain red flags. Here’s a list of three questions a potential home buyer should ask or look for:
1. Observe the piping system.
This is ideal especially if the utilities are on in the home. If the utilities are on, there will be a higher likelihood of detecting leaks and or strange noises that may come from old corroded piping. For example, some homes have compressed air systems installed. Ask yourself what type of piping is connected to the air compressor. According to JH Foster, a few good signs of proper piping would be (ideally) copper piping, aluminum piping, and black piping. Particularly, the black steel air pipe is a common choice for compressed air systems, but be on the lookout for any rust because it is common with this sort of piping system. They are easy to install, however. The ideal piping for compressed air systems would be copper piping. Potential red flags to look for would be PVC piping or galvanized piping.
2. Observe the grass.
This is especially true for the backyard and any connected basement of the home. This is mandatory if the potential home has a septic tank system installed. Usually, lush grass is a great accessory to a home. However, it could also be a sign of leakage in the septic system. Because of waste at this a great natural fertilizer, you want to look for spaces in the yard where there is an overgrowth of nice grass. This may indicate a need to replace or repair the septic tank.
3. Observe the lower level of the home.
This is especially true with an unused basement area. Take a look at the wall near the corner, where the wall meets the floor. Do you notice any signs of a watermark? Water lines are usually indicative of flooding in the basement. This might be an expensive fix if you decided to move forward because of the chance of mold being present. It will likely call for a specialist to come in and install either a sump pump or get other specialized work done to combat this problem.
When buying a home, it is especially crucial to your investment, as a home buyer and the health of your loved ones to buy a home that is safe and expense-free- at least for the first few years of your mortgage. Having a keen eye could also save you the expense of having an expensive inspector to come out and look for issues that you could have spotted on your own and made a quicker decision to pass on the home. Inspections can be expensive. Why not do some research and look for easily spottable potential expenses?
To avoid other potentially costly mistakes with your new home, check out this article from How To Crazy’s website. Happy house hunting!
