Checklist for When Buying a House

Would you spend more than a half of hour when inspecting a house that should be your home for more than 10 years? If you spend less, you’ll regret it. Why? You cannot check everything in so little time. If you have no idea what things you should inspect when seeing a house, we have put together a checklist that will help you figure things out. So, wherever you are in the world, from looking for a semi in Surbiton, to performing a Miami dade property search, you’ll now be better informed.

Let’s read it!

Does it have exterior tilts or cracks?

Before stepping inside the house, that can smell lavender fresh, you should inspect the exterior for cracks. Exterior repairs can be expensive, therefore, it’s important to know from the beginning the further costs it may require. Many homeowners purchased the property, which looked good before the purchase because they didn’t inspect it closely, and then they discovered foundation issues that cost a fortune.

A small crack on the exterior wall can be the sign of a deeper problem, so it’s advisable to hire a constructor to check it if you notice tilts and cracks. Any crack deeper than 0.5 inches can point out a structural issue. If your budget doesn’t cover reparations, you should not purchase a compromised house.

Some sellers try to hide the exterior cracks with mud or paint, so check for mismatched surfaces or new paint.

Do you notice signs of damp?

Watermarked ceilings or walls, flaky walls or mouldy odours are some of the most common signs of damp. They may sound obvious, but if you don’t check the house thoroughly you can miss them. Inspect every one of the walls and ceilings closely, and look around skirting boards. Some sellers try to cover damp signs with fresh paint, so when you enter a newly painted house you should carefully inspect it.

Black mould is dangerous for your health. It usually resides under drawers and sinks, so your checklist should include them. The homeowner may try to cover them with fresh paint, but they generate soft warped sheetrock, so you can notice them if you are looking for them.

Available storage space

With or without children you will need storage space when living under the same roof for a couple of years. The storage space is one of the most valuable features of a house. You need room to store your Christmas decorations boxes, vacuum cleaner, towels, out-of-season clothes and other similar belongings. Do you have storage space in the kitchen to store the dishware? Most of the newly built homes available on the market lack storage space. Keep this in mind when seeing for sale properties.

The state of the floors

Before seeing a house, you should put a marble in your bag. Why? You’ll use it to check the state of the floor. Ensure you inspect the floor in every room. Old houses are famous for their uneven floors, and if sometimes you can work with them, many other times they are so uneven you cannot install the furniture. Fixing floor deflections costs a lot, so you shouldn’t purchase a property with humps in the middle of the room because you won’t afford to pay for repairs.

To help you understand why fixing a floor is pricey, we will list the steps you’ll have to follow during the process. You have to remove the old floor, correct or change the support columns, find another floor to match the rest of the room, and hire a constructor to install it. Sometimes the floor is so uneven you need to work on the foundation to repair it.

The size of the rooms

You should determine what you are looking in a house before starting to see options. Be aware that some homeowners put small furniture items in certain rooms to make them look bigger. If you want to keep the existing furniture, you should ask yourself if it meets your needs. When buying a newly build house you should measure the rooms and use chalk to draw the floor to determine if they are big enough. When you know what you are looking in a house you can register on a real estate website because it’s letting you find more properties that share the features you are interested in.

Room fresheners may hide something

We don’t want to be mean, but stinky people use good perfume to cover the odour. The same goes with stinky houses, the homeowners may prefer to use a fresher instead of cleaning the interior. Your mission is to dig deeper when you notice that a scented candle is placed in a certain room of the house or when you enter a home filled with fresheners and potpourri. By identifying the smells, you identify the causes. Sometimes it’s a leaky pipe, other times is the pet, and occasionally mould can be behind it.

Is music playing the entire house?

The seller may play music in each room of the house because they may want to hide the outside noises. Sometimes, they turn on the fans to create noise to cover other sounds that may disturb your stay. You should ask the homeowner to turn off the music and any other device that generates sounds during the inspection. It’ll allow you to determine if the noise level of the house meets your needs.

The condition of the window frames

When you inspect the exterior of the house, you should also check the condition of the window frames. When a homeowner cares for their house, they maintain the entire property. If you have no issues putting the finger through the frames, they are probably rotten. Condensation between the panes can indicate faulty windows. Installing new windows can be costly because you need an inspector to approve the project. If the previous owner installed them, ask them to show you the certificate and the warranty.

Bottom line: During a house’s inspection, vigilance is the key. You should assume the role of the inspector and check every aspect that can damage your stay’s quality. Bring a notepad and write down all the ups and downs, it will help you compare properties and pick the right one.