Planning to Buy a Home? 8 Smart Ways to Unearth Hidden Problems

If you plan to become a homeowner, even after some years, you have to understand that there are many things that factor in more than saving money that will be enough for a down payment. Some additional expenses might come up through the whole home buying process, and if you are not careful, you will end up paying an enormous amount of money for repairs.

Therefore, it is vital to be thorough when buying a home since the least you would want is to buy a house full of hidden issues. Unfortunately, many sellers try as much as they can to hide problems even before they show you around the house so they can close the deal faster. This is why you must have your bits of intelligence and ensure you identify the hidden issues. However, the good news is that there are some ways to spot these problems. On the other hand, you can consider looking for houses that have been already inspected even before they hit the market on Compass.

How to unearth hidden problems

Selling a house can be a very stressful process, and anything can happen during the agreement process, mainly if you accept a no-inspection or no-financing possibility deal.

Check for exterior cracks and tilts

The interior of a house can smell new due to the fresh paint and the fantastic floor varnish; however, the exterior of that house can cost you a lot of money if you don’t pay close attention. Exterior cracks and tilts in a house indicate a foundation problem. So, you have to pay close attention to homes, especially ones built more than a decade ago or ones in an area with clay soil. Clay soil is widely known to be a notorious element when it comes to damaging house foundations.

To be on the safe side, bring with you a leveler, mostly a laser pointer. Ensure that the exterior cracks are not more than a quarter-inch wide. But if they are, make sure to have a structural engineer look at it. Keep in mind that many home sellers will try to sludge over or even paint the cracks, so try to look for paint or surface incompatibility.

Other warning signs of faulty foundation include:

• Cracks between tiles
• Windows that won’t close easily
• Doors that don’t match the latch or jams

Check for damages

Damages might seem obvious to miss; however, other signs can easily be missed if you don’t even know what to look for. The following are some types of damages to beware of and the warning signs to look for when planning to buy a house:

Faulty electrical system:  Electricity might sound like a complex topic; however, even if you are not an electrician, you can quickly test the outlets to check whether they are functional or try the light flickers. This is particularly vital to do for older homes, where the electrical wiring might be old. Also, have an inspector check the wiring.

Mold and watermarks: soggy and discolored walls are the most common signs of water damage. However, a less obvious warning sign will be a freshly painted wall; the seller can have a new coat of paint to hide the water damage. But if you see the wall section painted and it has a strange smell that mixes with the fresh paint, it could be a sign of mold. Have it checked by an inspector.

Bouncy or uneven floors

Bouncy or uneven floors can be structural issues that you should be concerned about. They can be caused by foundation settlement or crawl space problems related to moisture. Stagnant water, leaky plumbing, high humidity levels, or even a vented crawl can indicate a potential issue. Whenever wood is subjected to extreme humidity for long periods, it creates the perfect growth condition for mold and wood rot. This later weakens the joists and lowers their load-bearing capacities.

On the other hand, a bouncy floor can be caused by poor design. During the construction of a home, the floor beams, joists and support columns are spaced correctly to support the weight of the house, flooring and the entire contents. Also, when designing the footing, the type of soil is factored, so when the joists and columns are spaced too far from each other, they begin to sag and eventually bounce.

Loud music playing in every room

Loud music means that the seller is probably trying to hide the noise outside. So, whenever the seller attempts to do that, make sure that the music and the AC are turned off. This will help you determine the level of noise that can enter the house.

Spray painted edges

Painting the edge only makes it look fake. Unfortunately, many realtors and home sellers do so. They also buy new grass for their not so alive lawn, and this might be smart; however, no one can say that for the edge spraying. When it comes to the value and look of a home, curb appeal plays a significant role. However, it must be done appropriately. So, if the seller is taking shortcuts, ask yourself what other shortcuts could they have taken.

Check the house at different times of the day

When looking to buy a home, you should view it at least five to six times before making a decision. Two of the viewing should be done together with an appraiser or a realtor, and the other two independently. The timing should be different since the property can look different at different times of the day.

In the morning, the back patio might seem very delightful, but it can be uninviting when the sun hits it. On the other hand, in the kitchen, the sun can be cheerful in the morning, but it can be very overpowering in the evening.

Therefore, it is crucial to see how every room looks at different times, mainly when all will be occupied. In addition, the neighborhood can be very inviting and calm during the day but vice versa at night.

Strange temperature changes

If you live in a home that has a hot bedroom and a freezing bathroom, you probably know what a temperature disparity might feel like. Therefore, when checking a home you are planning to buy, it is vital to tap into your senses.

If you walk into a particular room and notice a strange change in the temperature, or maybe the air is dry or damp, make sure that you ask the seller how the room feels like during other seasons or times of the day.

Polluted backyard

If you happen to look at a house built some decades ago, the chances are that it ran on oil. In the past, homeowners had a huge oil tank installed underground or in the basement to save space and keep their homes beautiful. The problem then comes in as oil can significantly contaminate the soil, and since it is not cheap to get rid of the oil tank, some sellers might try to hide any evidence of its existence.

Therefore, while walking through the backyard, be sure to be on the lookout for a small pipe sticking up from below the ground, and sometimes the seller might have covered it with patches of grass. And to be sure, you can ask the seller if the home used to run on oil in the past.

Summing Up

Before buying a home, always take your time and inspect it correctly or have a professional inspector do that for you. When you prepare to buy a house, you should also be ready to view the house at least four times and be careful when reading the disclosure agreement. Keep in mind that the law requires the home seller to disclose any project done on the property.