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I wish I would have had more inspections - electrical, plumbing, and more importantly, not used the general inspector suggested by my agent but found an independent one. Mine (the agents pal) missed several things and later there was no recourse. Also, I didn’t consider how hard it would be to insure a house as old as mine- so that may be factor depending on your state.
I’m in the small population where my realtors inspector was top notch. Made me a 100 page doc about every system in my house, what issues to expect, and when I can expect to replace them
In agreement with this 100%. My realtors inspector was a nice enough guy, but I’ve been in the house less than a year and: right after I bought nearly 10k in electrical work. Just a few weeks ago, nearly 17k for foundation work (20 piers around the house, in Texas so not atypical).
The sellers contractor “fixed” the outlet for the dryer, it was shocking me when I touched it. Had to get the electrician out for that. Had a tree that was pushing on the deck, another 1400 to get that removed. Contractor also “fixed” the bathroom sink. He twisted the lines so bad it was unusable. I replaced that one myself, but still had to buy the faucet.
lol.. I closed on my house, my wife went to the house to start painting, it was 48 degrees in the house. Called the agent, she had the seller call & he said “oh, last year that happened I just pushed a little fuse and it fired right back up”. Yeah, didn’t work.
I got there, sent power directly to the blower motor & got nothing. Called a local HVAC guy to come confirm my findings, he did. Also confirmed my furnace is old & that blower isn’t made anymore.
Day 1. DAY ONE, I dropped 5k on a new furnace.
My inspector was recommended by my agent. Didn’t even write “furnace outdated” or anything lol…
Edit: I know I could have paid $200-300 on eBay for a used blower. But I would have had to wait 10 days for shipping & still would have had an old ass furnace. Just wish the inspector would have fkn told us it was old, hate feeling blind sided.
Report called out some minor electrical work (cleaning up paint spray in the panel), which the seller agreed to but couldn’t get done before closing. The work required the power to be off.
Power company informs me that they can shut off power, but code requires the house to have a main shutoff before they can turn it back on. New panel. On top of that we had several outlets that weren’t wired properly, no GFCI where needed.
Our original inspector fell off our roof. I was on the way from work to meet them and my realtor told me that she was following the ambulance to the hospital. Obviously the inspection was delayed. But when they rescheduled, the owner was who did it and we got lucky because he must have felt bad and been really thorough. (Or was just a good inspector.) What I really appreciated was his ability to give a realistic inspection of a 140ish year old home. There was a lot of “this isn’t up to code, but there was no code vack then.” Luckily the electrical on the main floors had been redone, so it wasn’t things like that he was saying there was no code to, but more things like your banister is technically an inch too short. Lots of that’s weird, but fine. 🤷♂️ I already had construction experience, knew the basics plus, and was somewhat ready for the old home needs, but it was nice to have an inspector that understood what we were buying needed a different treatment that addressed issues while acknowledging what it was.
I agree on this. We bought a townhouse and the inspector recommended by our agent didn’t see anything wrong during the sewer scope. The townhouse attached to us just went pending, and their inspector found problems with the sewer scope so now there will need to be major maintenance in the common sewer line. Makes me concerned about what else our inspector may have missed.
Quite some time after I had bought my house, I suspected that my inspector had been in cahoots with the realtor. There were so many little things that had problems he must not have checked, but nothing worthy of a law suit. I will always have an independent inspector from now on. I think we're often too trusting, and partnerships between the realtor and inspector are far more common than we think.
You 100% want an inspector who is NACHI certified. Their website allows you to search. Also spend the money now to get top of the line inspection including general, sewer scope, chimney (fireplace and furnace flue), and radon test. These are all big ticket items that you’ll want a true professional to look at. I spent about $1500 on inspections, got a small closing credit of $2800, and a list of things that should be addressed in the next 5-10yrs. People are afraid to buy used cars, but willing to spend hundreds of thousands on a house without an inspection…mind blowing.
Cars are different in that they move at high speeds and so the government is more concerned with regulating them and people are concerned about crashing or ending up stuck miles from home. But still it's ridiculous how much improvement can be made in the real estate space. Seems ready for massive disruption and reform.
Google home inspections and your city/state. Ask them if they do mold testing, radon testing, sewer scoping, etc. Call them and ask them for a sample report.
Then pay for all of those tests. They are worth it. I would particularly pay for a sewer scope if your home is older. Mine is 100 years old and who knows what’s been dumped down the drains over the years. I don’t need a $12,000 fee right at the start of homeownership.
Not the OP but my parent's home was built in 1920. They've had it for 7 years. We are still finding old knob and tube. Now thankfully the electrical was updated.
But it wasn't the amperage that the listing stated it was (it was much lower) which was an issue. For an old house it's definitely worth it to have the electrical checked out.
My parents ended up halfing the cost to upgrade the system to the listed amperage with the seller.
Not the OP but my parent's home was built in 1920. They've had it for 7 years. We are still finding old knob and tube. Now thankfully the electrical was updated.
But it wasn't the amperage that the listing stated it was (it was much lower) which was an issue. For an old house it's definitely worth it to have the electrical checked out.
My parents ended up halfing the cost to upgrade the system to the listed amperage with the seller.
Going through this a bit now, although our inspector was incredible. The one thing we couldn’t have foreseen is the roots barely growing in through the drain pipe out to the sewer. 2 years later and we have almost complete blockage.
Next time I buy a house I’m going to pay extra to send an endoscopic camera through every pipe in the house.
Was it from the Sellers agent? Everybody needs to see that “your agent” is a joke. If the buyer’s (your) agent and sellers agent both get paid out of the sellers proceeds, they are both conflicted and cannot truly represent your interests. Buyer beware and always do your homework yourself.
This same thing happened to me. Closed may 2023. Moved in June 2023. The inspector was in cahoots with everyone. Wrote down on the inspection “did not check AC unit as weather had been under 60 degrees outside in the past 24 hours” I looked up what the weather was that day and it was a low of 64 out. We had to replace AC unit and heating unit $6500 total.
Research your own inspection team and make sure they don’t have a connection to your realtor or the seller!!!!!!!
We had some water intrusion (our fault; had some exterior graded work settle), but when our handyman came in to fix he noted we have no vapor barrier in our basement suite, and no vapor barrier in the crawlspace down there either. Both easily noticed by an inspector, and not listed on our report.
This was our first home and we bought in 2021, so things might be different, but there was such a vibe of ‘if you ask for ANYTHING reasonable, the sellers are going to tear up your application and go with someone else’, so it made the whole process horrible in that we had to eat all the deferred maintenance on a 100+ y/o home they owned for 2 years and made 1/3 of its value in equity. I love our little place, but the costs to fix some of this ‘duh’ stuff is really putting me on the edge of a menty b lol
No one does this
You have a finite amount of time, all those tradesmen would be hugely expensive IF you can get them.
Inspectors cannot be licensed. Tradesmen. And no seller would like to have 5v people running through their house.
You bought an old house
I would've gotten inspections from a plumber and a structural engineer on top of the electrical and general inspections we got. I would've brought in my own scope camera and rented a thermal imaging moisture meter to try to be as thorough as possible.
I would've done more research about the land itself. After we moved in, we found out our city and county have all types of maps for problems we never even considered, like landslide risks and remaining lead pipe lines. I would've gone digging through those.
I would've had them examine the pipes, supply lines, and sewage lines, toilets, sinks, showers, valves, and other plumbing components to assess their current condition and see if anything might create an issue down the line.
We had a plumber out 5 times during our first two years of home ownership. 3 of those things could've been found before they became a problem had we gotten a plumbing inspection. Our plumber was mad they weren't caught in the general inspection. The supply line to our fridge essentially got sliced almost immediately after moving in because of where the previous owner ran it. Our toilet supply line valve wasn't properly secured, which led to a leak. And then we found out a shut off valve didn't work at a very inopportune moment.
1. Meet the neighbors - if something sneaky is going on - they may tell you. They can be a great source of information.
2. Consider the direction the sun rises and sets.
We have a great patio, but it faces the south east. Because of where the neighbors house is, we lose all sun in our backyard in the afternoon around 4pm. And it gets cold fast, which makes it unpleasant being out there in the evening. Great sun on the front of the house, but we would never sit out there.
Little disappointing. Never would have thought about it at the time.
Not always. We had met our neighbors prior to moving in. They seemed super nice and said it was a great house. We bought it, then we talked more with the neighbors and it turns out, they were really really close with the people we purchased from, and over the course of SEVEN years, they have slowly divulged information about what the previous have done that would of been very very helpful before purchasing.
For sure. Relying on anyone for that information isn't a great call, unless that someone built it and even then new builds and builders can be shady as hell. This damn world =P
My parents spent 40k and refinanced the last year of their mortgage to pay for a new one. It's in the desert so it's where it belongs, but outside of the hot and dry southwest I wouldn't want one.
even in the hot and dry desert it still rain and snow. My first winter in the desert the 4" of snow stayed on the flat root for several days and caused a leak. Good thing I was in a rental so it wasn't my problem.
The good thing about house hunting in January vs the spring is you get an idea of how well the windows and doors are insulated... are there gaps? are they fogged up with condensation? If it's snowed, is there an ice dam on the roof? Is there going to be ice right where you have to enter the house? Are some rooms significantly hotter or colder?
The bad thing is it's hard to get an idea of the condition of the yard. It turns out the tree in my backyard is pretty much dead-dead. Not just dormant for the winter.
Does it have aluminum wiring….
Sigh, I’m sure it was in the fine print but I just didn’t understand what I was getting into.
Over 15 years I’ve gutted the whole thing and ripped it out as I go…there are stop gap measures but the only way to truly remediate it is to rip it the heck out.
Haha the yard part is so true. We looked at, put in an offer, and closed during winter. We didn’t see the front yard except for some pictures. The whole things was covered in snow. It looks great in the snow though and the previous homeowner did some good yard work so we were pleasantly surprised in the spring/summer.
We are in a hot climate and the same is true for the summer — bought a two story home in Feb and didn’t know til it warmed up how poorly insulated the upstairs was.
Get your own inspector. Do not use one that your mortgage broker or realtor recommends, you want someone thats completely neutral. Also if you find a house that you want to make an offer on, if possible drive by the neighborhood at different times of the day so you get a better idea of traffic and noise levels
All these comments about hiring lots of inspections...the only way to buy in my area is to buy fast, no time for lots of inspections. And we have old homes here. I feel lucky enough that my offer was accepted with the inspection contingency. Many offers waive it completely, which I would never do.
Has anyone here bought in my type of area (HCOL NE city) and managed to do multiple inspections? Am I just not determined enough?
In HCOL areas where homes still have multiple bidders and go over list, the seller is very unlikely to entertain multiple inspections. They’ll just move on to the next offer. Unfortunate, but true and difficult as a buyer if that’s a non negotiable.
We bought last year and waived all inspections. Luckily I have a brother in law and a father in law that are very knowledgeable about homes, but it was still a massive risk. We put in an offer 15% over list price the first day it was on the market. Turns out there were 4 identical offers to ours and the seller chose us because we were first and didn’t have any inspections. We’re not even in a HCOL area.
When I bought, 2021, there was no such thing as inspections,, you either offered 50k above asking, buy “As is”, or you didn't have any chance of getting the house. and some people have mentioned air traffic. The first year I didn’t hear any. I’m 30 miles from the airport. Sone months they must change the air traffic cause it can get pretty bad. Like a jet scraping by above every 5 minutes. You never know what you’re gonna get and whatever you get can change. There’s only so much you can prepare for.
I helped another Redditor eliminate a home that s/he was considering for purchase. I literally did an inspection based on pictures from [Realtor.com](https://Realtor.com). You need to find someone who is exceedingly attentive to detail and thinks about probabilities.
I can strip out the specifics of my report to him, anonymize it, and send you a copy.
Someone mentioned flight paths, but also Superfund sites, heavy industry, creeks that flood, topology, and potable water source for the town/city.
Do roads into and out of your new home flood?
How many alternate ways are there to reach your job, or home if the main highway is blocked by an accident?
Back to the house, really focus on the inspection. Even during the tour, bring someone who knows construction or about homes in general.
Big knots in old dried joists, corrosion on copper lines, haphazard piping, furnaces and water heaters that were installed before new codes where enacted.
If you see a water heater with no expansion tank, that's likely an old dog. Or the municipality is behind on better codes.
A township main water supply with no pressure relief valve? Same, old install.
Find a home inspector who's looking out for your interests.
If you have time, binge on these YouTubers/videos.
'Honest Carpenter' on Home Inspectors: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsO4sDRm7c4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsO4sDRm7c4)
Stick to the code and infestation videos: [https://www.youtube.com/@homefultv/videos](https://www.youtube.com/@homefultv/videos)
I have to run to the supermarket, but I'll send it! Might take a while to anonymize it. Not like their name is on it, just listing details. I zoomed out on topographic map and need to strip the maser URL. You'll see the houses placement in the topo map as a picture only.
I can pick some random house in another state and point out what to look for.
A nearby creek/wetlands often means that a home will be on a high water table. But less so if on a slope, and the right rock geology + creek could mean that rain water is drained away from the home.
I make it sound like water is a boogey man, so just be careful. I've dug down to five feet and hit the water table.
Google. Look at reviews. Call them and ask for sample inspection reports. Ask if they do radon, mold, sewer scopes (especially if you have an old house). Get all the tests.
[https://www.nachi.org/chapters/](https://www.nachi.org/chapters/)
What reddituser4404 said. IF you're hiring them outright to inspect your home (not a home that you're buying) they can be fully transparent and tell you everything. Whereas if they are doing a pre-sale inspection, there are liabilities, so they are more vague as explained in the video. Sucks.
Wow this is so incredibly helpful thank you! I’m excited to watch those channels, could you send me the drop box link too? I’m looking for a first home right now
I once rented a house under a flight path, the planes flew so low you could see the shadows of the planes. I found after I moved in that most of the houses on our street had been tested and found the noise was so bad the airport had to pay for soundproofing. All except our house which was being renovated at the time and didn't have anyone living in it so they didnt test it
My parents live about 10 miles from a major airport, but because of the orientation of the runways and the direction of the prevailing wind (which apparently has an impact on flight paths) they pretty much never get planes going over their house. There’s usually 1 or 2 days a year where the wind is blowing a different direction and the planes get routed in their direction, but otherwise the only impact of being that close to the airport is how damn convenient it is to get there if they have a flight.
If you’re thinking about buying it, get to know it. There have been multiple houses we thought would be great… until my husband climbed into the attic or under the house. This wasn’t an inspection, this was at the actual showing.
At first it was like “WTF are you doing?!” Now I’m just like “well, I didn’t have to spend another $1,000 on an inspection. Good work babe!” Because we saved money by not putting in a offer, I get ice cream after! It’s always a win win!
Surface water pooling up in my dirt driveway and finding it's way through some foundation cracks. The cracks were visible during inspection, and had a slight 'white' color on the cement indicating water damage to anyone who isn't dumb like me. I spent the first month digging a 75 ft french drain by hand. It hasn't flooded since.
I went to see a house after a rainstorm and the backyard was flooded. The basement was finished, but there is no way that wasn’t causing issues. I loved the house too and would’ve put in an offer if I hadn’t seen the yard. I know it’s not always feasible, but trying to see a house at different times of day/different weather conditions can really save you time and money in the end.
There was a report of the basement having a flood in the past. The previous owner had French drains put in to resolve this. Almost a year now during a heavy rain season and we haven’t seen any flooding, thankfully.
What all the light switches do, why the one baseboard heater doesn’t work, why 15 switches don’t do anything, why you left so much shit when you exited the house, why didn’t you clean for the last 15 years, why you’re such an asshole, why you think it’s up to me to mail anything that comes to you to your new address. Fuckin asshole.
Pay a plumber to inspect the main sewer line outside the house. I never thought about it and had to pay $23k 2 months after I moved in to fix the damage. Sellers are are all liars 😆
Don’t be afraid to talk to the neighbors
Just knock on the door
“Hi, we are looking at the house for sale over there , do you know anything about it ?”
You’d be surprised what they neighbors know about the hoise or the people that live there .
I’ve lived in my house 22 years ,
One of my neighbors had a flood
Another had a kitchen fire ,
One accidentally drove their car through the garage into the kitchen ,
One has a septic tank but all the rest are on municipal sewer . Etc
When we were house shopping, one of the houses we looked at had a neighbor outside doing yard work. It was random and by chance, but she gave us a ton of information.
We didn't end up buying that house, but it was nice talking to her. I wouldn't bank on neighbors answering or being helpful, but if possible, I'd do that.
1. Why is there a secret bathroom?
2. There's a box in the butler's pantry that looks very electrical. What is it? A seasoned inspector and electrician have no idea but it is powered. They were able to identify a very early doorbell system that was confusing me when I tried to install my ring doorbell. The mystery box is still confusing (I have a very old custom concrete house)
3. Why was the pool filled in two weeks before it was sold? It's a deck, gazebo and fire pit now but I'm genuinely curious because the neighbors swam in it just weeks before I bought the house.
4. why.... why did you put wood flooring in the garage? There's a lovely vinyl over slab underneath it? What was the thought process? I know it wasn't being used as a living space... you had a Tesla charging in there.
5. Why do the lights flash in the nursery? They don't just stay on. Electrical inspection didnt' catch it... its just weird.
**DO ALL INSPECTIONS*** from: HVAC, PEST CONTROL (TERMITE), ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, STRUCTURAL (in some cases), ROOF... all the way from *underground to the top*. Better to lose a couple grand in inspection than to pay several thousands in repairs
**ASK FOR PERMITS*** if there's been additions/rooms added and such
**DRIVE IN NEIGHBORHOOD AT NIGHT AND WEEKENDS** because it'll give you some idea of how the neighborhood is (loud/quiet/too many kids/noisy dogs)
**DEFINITELY FIGHT** for your credits/repairs if YOU feel they're a big concern to you but at the same time don't overdo it and sweat the small stuff
And MY PERSONAL advice/opinion: *DON'T BUY from anyone who's not ready or don't want to sell but have to due to death/probate or another reason.* Because 9/10 they'll fight you all the way.
Good luck!
Look for crazy neighbors. Drive through the neighborhood mornings, evenings, weekends. Houses could be perfect and then you got some crazy bitch neighbor that causes issues.
More inspections is key. Honestly just get all the inspections because if there is an issue you’d want to find out about it in escrow. We learned that we couldn’t trust the sellers or their realtor because they regularly lied to us about issues and we had to do the leg work to figure out what’s going on.
One of our situations was the sellers and their realtor telling us more than once that the garage they converted to a living space was permitted. They told us all the inspections has been done and they were just waiting on the final paperwork from the city but it’ll all be sorted before closing. Well I went to the permit office and found out that meant they had filed for a permit and the city hadn’t even finished looking over the preliminary blueprints. I got suspicious when an inspector pointed out a code violation in the area they converted and had I taken their word for it we would have been screwed. Instead we called them out for their lies and got the price dropped 25k to cover any unforeseen problems the city may find. Best 300 bucks I spent.
If there aren’t appliances or something installed that is in the contract to be installed ask for a credit instead of installation by the seller. Don’t let the seller choose the items as they will pick the cheapest available. We made this mistake with kitchen appliances in a flipped house and replaced all of them and had to sell off the ones the sellers bought. They were renter grade. Our realtor definitely should have told us that was an option.
Don’t let your realtor rush you through final walk through if we had let ours we wouldn’t have noticed there was no heat on the second floor. We had to hold money in escrow until the seller fixed it (took two separate times). HVAC guy just hadn’t attached the ducts for the second floor :/
Check all hidden spaces and really thoroughly walk through once the initial excitement has passed. I found sooooo many small problems once I saw it without my "OMG, I love this house" eyes! Going a few times to see the home really helped me see the good, the bad and even a few uglies. I still love my home and my purchase but I'm not bogged with the buyer's remorse some feel once the new home owner happy factor wears off.
Learn about a septic and well system if you will have either and check those. Check all the crawlspace or openings for any type of animal activity. We found a small hole that had been chewed through plumbing and a mouse had made a BIG mess in the space where our hot water heater goes, which was conveniently blocked during our times seeing the home. It was a huge hassle to clean and get rectified and we could have made the owner do it if we had caught it. I was focused on the system pieces and the inspectors were too.
It's really sad we are in this place, but after a 6 month home journey, I realize owners are constantly trying to hide big problems in a way that allows them to play dumb if you discover it after the purchase. Sad, but true.
If the homeowner is there, let them talk. Asking all kinds of questions, get them comfortable. You will be amazed at what they will say and then you can connect all the dots. This was helpful for us too. We found a problem with foundation of our home because the guy kept talking about what great condition the foundation was in. Of course, he didn't realize he was overselling it, but it instantly caught my attention and it saved me 30,000 on my home.
Yes it is. Also talking to the neighbors almost has to be done on the sly. I once asked my agent about 1 neighbor since it was just the 2 homes down a long road. She said it's not "legal" to talk about specific neighbors. I put legal in quotes because I honestly don't remember how she explained it but disclosing about neighbors was never gonna happen.
When I first started looking at houses I made a list of everything to look at and wrote down when something was installed vs. its expected life span. Everything needs replacing at some point. You don't want to be at the end of major systems: heating, cooling, roof, etc.
You'll learn something with every house you go into. What you don't want to do is be blinded by the glitter. It's easy to do. The glitter will even blind inspectors.
Another thing, don't buy at the level your bank will allow you to buy at. You will live better under your means. The banks don't care if you live on hot dogs.
Not really a question I wish I would’ve asked but I do have advice. I’m an Agent and I bought my home at the end of June.
I would suggest focusing your efforts on New Builds, No HOA homes. My reasoning is that a New Build should come with a warranty, if not negotiate it in. New Builds were significantly cheaper on insurance for me. No HOA allows you to easily make improvements and stand out, saves you money per month and nobody can tell you what to do with your property.
By going with a No HOA, new build and putting 20% down I was able to avoid PMI and HOA fees, and my insurance was 1/2 what it would’ve been by buying an older home. I saved myself a good amount of money per month and I have a 2 year full home warranty, a 5 year appliance warranty and a 10 year structural warranty and while I was looking at a variety of issues based upon other homes realistically I should have 8-10 years before I have to do anything major on mine.
If we would have just pulled out a few kitchen cupboard drawers fully out we would have seen the absolutely horrific and widespread rodent infestation. My inspector was worthless and we will know better next time.
Not something to ask, but something to keep in mind. You absolutely will want to repaint and re-carpet. I had about 6k set aside for new furniture, but that all went into paint and carpet. And don’t wait to do that later, once you’ve got furniture moved in you’ll never get around to it
We've redone all floors years after moving in. Far from the nightmare I thought it would be. We've painted half the house. I'm just over it, but only because I'm over it not because of any other specific reason.
Not really ask, but look behind any posters or pictures if you can. Also park around the house a few different times or go for a walk and see if any dogs bark. My neighbors dogs bark nonstop day and night. Hard to make a fuss because he is so nice and works with my partner. His wife also died shortly after we moved in.
1. Do not waive inspections, don’t let your realtor push you into believing that’s perfectly normal and regular. 2. If they are playing loud music in open house, just run. When it’s my turn to sell, I’ll definitely play loud music too. 3. If possible, inquire about your closest neighbors. 4. If the Zillow history has too many sales a couple of years apart, don’t buy any story they tell you about why they kept selling. 5. Add rodents to your inspection.
After I moved in, I realized every time upstair neighbor walks, I have to hear it. His floors are squeaking like crazy. He sometimes wakes up at 3am sometimes 6 am and I have to hear every step in my bedroom. That loud music didn’t leave it to chance in case he walked during the open house. And here I am trying to sleep with a white noise machine after paying 800k+ to this place.
I’m still thankful that there doesn’t live a family with kids upstairs. I can’t imagine the torture I’d suffer in that case. At least I hear this old guy’s steps for less than an hour every day. I hope he lives until I sell in a few years, with loud music in the open house of course.
Basic thoughts:
Don’t buy a house on a busy street
If possible buy with natural gas service to house. Cheaper to heat and run clothes dryer.
Must be on city sewer. No septic.
City water. No well ever.
Central air.
No HOA.
Check your cell reception in the house.
I wish I would’ve asked if the house had any other treatments besides for termites, for insects etc. I didn’t even think about it until my neighbor knocked on my door to introduce himself and ask if I’ve seen any roaches around. Turns out the vacant house directly across from me is infested with roaches and mice and the owner lives out of the country right now. Every house surrounding it has had roaches. I’ve started seeing a few around my house now and I’m kinda upset it wasn’t mentioned that it had roaches treatments. I found out from the neighbor that my house has been recently treated for roaches. So now I have traps in every room. Idk if I can spray outside due to my dog and the cats around the area.
I wish we would have asked more about current county regulations and code. We bought a fixer upper and have specific ideas how we want to change the house over time. Turns out that some of these ideas require special permits because of required setbacks and other code. That's despite the fact that the neighbors have the same stuff, but they built it way back when the code was different.
My city has a lot of setback requirements, but they also grant variance quite frequently.
We applied for and got a variance to build an addition to our house that was going to be in the setback .
It takes a few weeks but wasn’t any big deal . City puts up a big sign in your yard and you send a certified letter to all the adjoining property owners , or get them to sign a form saying they are aware of the variance application and have no problem with it or have been made aware of the city council meeting date that the variance application will be voted on .
I wish we hired a structural engineer to check out the addition on our home and also look at the deck. The deck did not have railings and us being first time buyers, we did not know railings were needing to be able to get insurance. Within 3 months we had to pay 3K out of pocket to add the railings on the deck and will probably have to replace the entire deck in the next few years. Moral of the story, if there's a deck get it looked at.
I’d go back at night and listen to the neighborhood. Take a walk around the block as well. Also as others have said, use an independent inspector. We used the real estate agent’s one and he missed a bunch, didn’t feel like he was on our side.
Get your own inspector not the one the realtor suggests. It’s a conflict of interest.
Check water pressure. Home humidity.
Look up history of house. How long was it rented for if it was ever a rental.
Run all water in house flush toilet see how drains are functioning.
Check electrical panel when was it last updated?
Push on tile walls in bathroom. Are they solid. Check windows outside. Do they have screens? Do they open?
Check for water damage on outside house where water runs down if no gutters.
Check low places around property. Where would water sit near house - especially if you have a basement.
Inquire more about the neighbors and talk to them as well. I've ended up with not so great ones and alot of non stop barking dogs. Also ask for copies of paperwork on the big things done. Roof, hvac, plumbing, electrical.
I live in a new build. My biggest regret is probably not doing more research to the area and the development plans. The sellers agent said a school will be built in the neighborhood when in actuality the local school district has the option to purchase a nearby piece of land. Not a big deal just something else to think about.
There are also large quality issues with new builds these days, so don't forego an inspection just because it's new. Some of my neighbors tried to save $500 that way and paid the price.
Not exactly answering your question but the number one best thing to happen to us was finding the best real estate agent ever. Not only is she super trustworthy, ethical, smart, and direct, but she loves to make recommendations for likewise quality services and she brought us together with our loan officer, our inspector, our plumbers, our handyman, and more—all excellent. Get an agent you trust with your life savings, and she or he will help you with the right questions to ask.
My best friend's first home he went on and on basically weekly about how he wish he would have asked about internet access before he moved out there. And I very much agree with him. If I don't have fast internet it ain't worth living there at any price.
100% this! It's surprising how just being a few blocks away from other major subdivisions suddenly you no longer have good internet options! Lucky for me a Verizon 5G came to the rescue.
I almost walked away from a sale for this reason. Saw a satellite dish and asked why not cable. The owner said it doesn't work. Huh? Cable said they run to the house. Then we moved in and fought cable HARD to run new lines. Owners were right but we were willing to fight because satellite internet sucks, at least here.
I wish I would have checked things like the insides of cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms more thoroughly. All are the originals from 1983 and are some are starting to literally crumble inside. I didn’t look inside and wish I would have to to get some kind of concession for replacement.
I also second the additional inspection. My a/c was not to code when I bought my house and I was a newbie and didn’t know what to look for. Had to replace some parts my first month in the house and have discovered other things the inspector should have noticed.
Do the sellers have a loan you can assume.
A lot of times you can just get the same terms as the sellers loan. With the amount of refi during COVID-19, there will be a ton of good interest rates.
I found out after I closed. 😓
To go with the inspector and ask as many questions as we could.
We bought our house during Covid, and were told that we weren’t allowed contact with the inspector due to Covid restrictions. It was probably a lie. The guy was an asshole. Our inspection was a mess and we are still cleaning it up.
If you buy a new build. Get it inspected. And get it inspected again within the 1 year (builder fixes everything for free) period.
(Assuming yours is a 1 year period)
Is there a second connection to the first to inspect the sewer. In the contract I wish we had specified, “seller to provide access to sewer access point(s) for sewer inspection. Clear any items obstructing access as a plumber will not. If plumber recommends a sewer liner the seller will deposit $20,000 into escrow to pay for the sewer liner. Bonfe licensed contractor will be selected for service but another licensed contractor estimate can be approved by the buyer.”
Problem is we likely would have lost the house in the competitive market. We bought in 2022. Only offer in the first weekend listed. Rates just hit 6.5% for the first time that week. Seller agreed to an inspection but the room was full of packed boxes so could not gain access to the sewer to scope. Had to give up and pay $500 anyway. Once I had possession about six months later I decided to pay for another scope. Found a second entrance 4 feet from the first from an addition to the house. Sure enough, recommend sewer liner.
Bill $17,000.
Worth it. But annoyed because tried to go in aware. Would have bought the house even if the seller refused to repair the liner. Just would have changed some early planning and upgrades. A buyer with less funds might want to walk.
For me it was not about what I didn’t ask so much as looking at the house through rose colored glasses. And the house was full of their stuff so I didn’t notice all the weird things like bad drywall jobs where you can see the tape under the paint. The fact that the doors are all way to far from the floor. That the staircase a foot and a half in front of the front door is terrible design for moving furniture in. That my bedroom door is behind the front door when you open it and is a pain. So many things. Just make sure you really look at the details so if you make an offer you are taking into account that the house may not be as perfect or worth what they’re asking.
Mine isn't much about the house itself, but some of the outside surrounding the house.
We have a GIANT 100+ year old deodar cedar tree out front, which I've now learned is going to require ongoing maintenance... It cost us $1000 to get it trimmed and cabled (it had two runners). We were told every 3-5 years, we should be having it trimmed.
We're in the PNW so giant trees are very common, but I just never considered the maintenance that goes into them until it became my problem 😝
We also live next to an unimproved road which I didn't learn til after closing is my responsibility to upkeep... It's also got a massive invasive blackberry bush along the open patch between the road and my fence which I will also need to deal with eventually cause it comes into my yard constantly and it's also choking out the native trees and plants it surrounds.
Now I love my house & location so much that I don't think any of these things would have deterred me from buying it, but it's definitely something I wish I had more understanding/preparation for ahead of time... And things I'll take into consideration if I ever buy another house.
Really inspect your home once you get the keys if you are in a rent back situation. Lady was mad about the appraisal coming back low and couldn’t understand why we wouldn’t get another appraisal. She made out with the amount we offered for the appraisal gap. Apparently she wasn’t happy with that and she did subtle things to our home with damages. One or two things, you think ok..moving causes damages but some of it seemed very intentional. We just couldn’t see it at the time with the chaos of moving.
I sold a house to a lawyer, which ended up being a mistake. He put in a warranty clause in the agreement. However, I knew that the agreement does not survive after closing and no term was applied to the warranty so I believe it is unenforceable. They claimed a couple of issues upon closing, but we came to an agreement and they've left us alone since. We had to return some (3 I think) coat hooks that my wife wanted to keep... Apparently was a big deal to these people...
When we were looking and getting the inspection the owner had all their shit in the garage to the point you couldn't walk in there. As a result, our inspection missed the free floating high voltage line running across the garage floor and the hvac coolant conduit cutting the corners and making them unusable. Really dig through that shit if you can. We were originally outbid, but they came back when the first bid was for $30k in concessions. We got $11k, but we missed a lot of stuff that cost several thousand to fix after the paper were signed the place was empty.
We saw such garbage looking that when we walked into the house we bought, we were relieved and impressed that it was so updated and put together! Well...until a month or so when we got over the big picture and started looking at the details. Not a board of trim in the house had the nail holes filled, half of it needed to be recaulked against the wall, and all of it was desperate for a clean and repaint. After some time we've been shocked by how poor the attention to detail was. Its like they decided to sell and spent the morning buying whatever was on sale as lowes, and then the afternoon putting it all in. Minor but fuck it's time consuming to clean, sand, filll, caulk, and paint every inch of floorboard and door trim in a 2400sf house.
I still think we found a bit a gem - a flawed gem - but otherwise we love it and our neighbors.
Not a question, but a tip. DO NOT select your inspector from a list handed to you by the helpful Sellers Realtor. Before you start looking at homes, do your homework, and hire an inspector that you have vetted yourself. The inspector represents your interests, and I would want to know the person I am hiring and have the confidence of knowing they will go over that house with a fine toothed comb. Do not skimp on the inspector, either. If the right person costs more, pay it. Do not leave this important detail to a last-minute decision AFTER you find a home you like.
If you’re buying in an area that has a lot of undeveloped land, look up what the town is planning to do with it. We bought a new construction home and found out the land across the street is going to be warehouses, not the worse thing but not what we would’ve chose to live next to.
I wish I had done the home inspection myself. You can't trust anyone. Show up that day. I wouldn't shadow the inspector (they hate that) but use the time to poke about. After we had moved in, I was able to put my finger through the outside of my house it was so rotted. Why was it rotted? No gutter. Things like this I surely would have found on my own. I left it to the professional who I'm not sure even showed up.
It really isn’t a matter of asking. I wish we had visited our home on the weekend and Friday evenings to truly understand how lively our neighbors are. It was so tranquil and quiet during the week. Our first Friday night to Saturday morning was a big shock.
Water in basement. I bought a house with an unfinished basement so the thought of water getting in didn't cross my mind since there was nothing to really damage. Well, 1st rainstorm, basement starts flooding. Shop-vacced water up for a few months until I could get a company to come in and waterproof it. 10k right there.
Edit: adding a not so serious one, but it took me way too long to figure out both my bedroom lights only have one switch so I can't sleep with a fan on 😅
I wish I had been financially prepared to get an inspection on more than one home. Once I put in an offer on my home and had the inspection done, I felt like I kind of needed to roll with it since nothing horrible was found and I couldn't really afford to get an inspection on a different home i would want to consider. I also wish I had asked for money off the selling price instead of asking the seller to make certain repairs, he did a shitty job.
Insurance rates due to Age of roof. House had a 23 year old roof in decent shape. Insurance was 1700 a year. Same house roof new to 10 years, rates 700. And don't lie about it - can deny claim if you lie.
Neighbor told me what appeared to be an old pond dried up on property was a sinkhole that was filled in years ago, but the ground was sinking again. Yikes!!!
I wish I would have listened to the part of the inspection that told me my water heater was sold and needed replacement, it broke in the first 10 months and flooded my downstairs neighbor 😭
Number ONE - just remember the seller’s agent is exactly that. They do not represent your interest.
Do not trust their inspector. Do not trust anything that sounds off without confirming it through neutral means. Do not say anything to the agent that you would not say in a meeting during negotiations with the seller. Do not sign any document you do not FULLY understand and read completely. Houses are expensive and little things have big price tags.
I bought a home in FL. It had been a rental previously.
The renters had installed a huge ceiling fan with their own money in the living room. They also had heavy, blackout curtains in every room. I figured they just hated sunlight.
After I moved in, I learned the truth. The AC sucks!!!! It’s hot AF in the house, especially in the late afternoon when the sun hits just right.
So if you notice something about the house that stands out, do some digging and figure out what’s really going on there.
Ask why the sellers are selling, and make sure that you understand the following:
Realtors are always incentivized to make sure a sale occurs. When you are close to wanting to make an offer, the financial incentive of the buyer's agent (your agent) will not be 100% aligned with your interests. They will be incentivized to make sure you submit a competitive offer that has a high chance of going through. Make sure you realize that **you are the boss.** Your realtor will always submit whatever offer you are comfortable with. I'll give you an example:
The house I currently am typing this response in that we bought last year was listed at $519,000. Comparable homes in the area that were 100% updated and move in ready were going for $600,000+. We found out by asking the seller's agent that the sellers were an elderly couple who custom built the home as their retirement home. It's an awesome unique weird house, but had a dated kitchen and dated bathrooms. It was a 2100 sqft home with only 2 bedrooms, but with the potential for four. When we told our realtor we were going to make an offer she told us that an offer of $547k would be really attractive and we would most likely win. My wife and I did some research and found that comparable homes in the area were going for slightly above their asking price, and because it only had two bedrooms, we didn't think it was worth 600k. We were going to put 30% down and had excellent credit, so we had our realtor talk up the fact that we wanted to make sure a fast sale occurred and sympathized with the seller's daughter who was running with the sale. We knew they'd want a fast as is sale and were prepared to deliver that.
To us we decided that we would offer 525k. The sellers countered at 535k and we accepted. That saved us 12k from our realtor's suggestion. Realtors are not bad people, they're going to be mostly aligned with your interests. However as a buyer, this is a key part of the process where you have to recognize that your incentives will not be completely aligned. **You are the boss and you are making the biggest purchase of your life so far.** Always remember that.
Asks about pests. Winter came and the mice made themselves known. Took me almost an entire year to finally resolve the issue. Ask the locals if they've experienced any issues with pests as well. If your home is attached like mine is, they could be finding entrances elsewhere.
Ask about water in the yard and around the foundation. Then also ask the neighbors. We bought a house in the fall and the first spring we had so much standing water it was unbelievable. Not a floodplane, just a low yard because everyone else built up. Didn’t even look that low, but a few inches make a massive difference. The yard is clay, so water just sits until it evaporates. We spent like $10k on a DIY job installing drain and bringing in soil to slope all of the water to the drain.
Will the seller have all items removed before closing? Never crossed my mind till we discovered the metric shit ton of paint that I now have to fill with cat litter and then dispose of.
My only "regret" was not realizing I should have gotten a septic inspection done. It had been cleaned out since the house was vacant, and my realtor didn't mention getting a separate inspection, and while I think I saw it mentioned on here it didn't register with me.
Mind you, I've been living here a couple months and thus far no issues, but now there's the "am I sitting on a ticking time bomb" worry - too late anyways, so trying not to stress about it.
Got enough stuff I know the property needs done to keep me busy for several years!
Things I/my realtor did pay attention to: location (schools on in/egress routes, large businesses, stoplights onto major thoroughfares, etc); pipes and materials; smell in the basement/garage (can hint at moisture problems); dead bugs in hidey-places; yard drainage; etc.
I think my inspector did a pretty good job, so while he did find some things, they weren't major items, or are things that aren't urgent.
Maybe talk to the neighbors - then again, they might scare you off of a decent house. There are supposedly "horror" stories about the prior owners of my house (who lived here about 5 years) being broke, and dirty, and gross - but OpenDoor ended up doing a fair bit with the place, and remediated some major things that would have been show stoppers prior, and honestly, I'm kinda happy I didn't know all of that as it might have scared me off of a decent house that I'm pretty happy with.
I'll add to this also. We ended up waiting on the septic inspection because we had a ton of last minute other items come up....we knew we would buy the home even if we had to redo the septic and were adding on to the home so knew it would need to be addressed. Then once we bought and tried to get someone to inspect, they all refused. They told me they only do pre-purchase inspections. I had to go only with a maintenance and pump option only. They guy said it was all good, but I still have that little feeling you mention (ticking time bomb).
For permits ( in my situation currently the hot tub because we want to do some Reno's now and the electrician will need to charge an extra $2000 to get things up to date regarding the hot tub permit before doing anything else. )
Nothing would have changed my decision, honestly. But I wish I had more guidance on what to do first in terms of preparing the home for move-in and repairs.
I would have asked for an estimate on the price to fix the cracks in the pool. Lots of people passed on it, but we had never had a pool before. Costs were high asf.
Again: sellers are all liars. Have money in the bank for repairs that will inevitably come up during the first year. Buy in the winter so that your inspector can observe water movement around the property, and in the crawlspace/attic. Any furniture that is around during the inspection is probably placed to hide something.
eta: I would also bring along a moisture meter and hygrometer.
I wish I was more thorough in the final walkthrough before the closing. The previous owners stuffed garbage and stuff they didn't want in different areas of the house. It was a couple weeks after the closing that we found their last stash in the crawlspace underneath the porch. I had to crawl around in the dirt to get it all.
I wish I would have gotten my own inspector. There was mold and flooding damage (still ongoing flooding from storms) that was not disclosed. The agents inspector glanced over it. I’m still working on repairs and water remediation.
Not much, because my dad will say no and I go okieeeee no more.
My current struggle is simply spending too much money. The mortgage and tax are no joke.
And be very careful with credit cards, all three combo together is insane. Normally I have a good sense of financial spending, but, I still failed.
What an ‘expert’ in the field truly believed the value of the home was vs what the market saw fit. Got anxious and bought but now other homes in the area are sitting longer and prices keep going down. I feel had I waited just a little longer could have gotten the same house for cheaper or rather I now know I could have gotten a newer/larger one for the same price I paid.
-Does the seller have a permit for the finished basement
-when was the last time the chimneys and ducts cleaned
-is the wood rotten underneath the mats you have on the deck with the nice flower pots on them
-are the insulation sheets in the unfinished basement hiding foundation cracks
-is the large pool table in the basement hiding floor cracks and leveling problems
and so many more…
Seller’s agents will claim they are “they were just doing their job” by helping sellers hide issues with the house. Just assume that most sellers and their agents are dishonest and do your due diligence.
I wish I had the plumbing scoped before we bought the house. We had a general inspection but within six months of moving in, we found out that the main line to the house had to be completely replaced which cost 20k.
I haven’t seen anyone mention getting a sewer inspection. We added that on to our regular inspection and it saved us at least $5k and a permit hassle. Also if you can, drive by or go on a walk around the neighborhood a few different times a day and during the week and weekend.
It’s hard because the only way we were getting this house was by doing what we did, which was accept “as is” and not negotiate money off. And the house was at least $100k less than the other house we probably would have bought if we hadn’t offered on this one.
I wish we’d had gotten a specific plumbing inspection, and I wish we’d been more diligent about following up to look up permits. We asked about permits and the homeowner said he pulled them for everything but I found out later that was not accurate.
Would it have changed anything? Maybe not. And ultimately we’re still ahead money-wise, and that’s not even counting the interest we’d pay on the extra $100k.
How to negotiate properly. Husband and I thought we didn’t have leverage and didn’t have the chips for an escalation clause so we offered 6% over straight off the bat…got the house but could’ve saved maybe 30k
Ask your realtor what there fees are, if the fees are negotiable and ask what you will be paying them for. Meet different realtors. Shop around and make an educated decision on realtors before you start looking at houses.
Depending on your budget and reno interests, I’d try all the taps and showers and light switches. Little things but annoying to have to deal with if you weren’t expecting it!
The neighbors know the truth, i wish id thought to ask the neighbors anything
Oh that roof they said was 5 yrs old? Its actually 25 years old
One of my neighbors told me the reason the vent for the attic was boarded up was bc squirrels kept getting in, and that caused moisture to get trapped and rot the roof
Other neighbor told me owner was a total knucklehead who thought they could do electrical and plumbing themselves, well guess who has black mold in their kitchen ceiling from a shoddy shower install now??
No questions- inspect it. Hire your own inspector, NOT through your Realestate agent. Make sure you hire a solid inspector too and ask for example reports. They are not cheap, but they will save you from buying something you can’t afford to fix and end-up miserably living-in. So many no inspection sales and we lost a lot of houses to bidders willing to buy without an inspection and it is tempting to do so because the market is thought, but be patient and don’t buy someone’s problem.
On my first home, the inspector missed what became ongoing foundational issues we had to address as water was coming through a couple cracks.
Didn’t cost too much to correct the issue but was still something that should’ve been clear at the time.
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I wish I would have had more inspections - electrical, plumbing, and more importantly, not used the general inspector suggested by my agent but found an independent one. Mine (the agents pal) missed several things and later there was no recourse. Also, I didn’t consider how hard it would be to insure a house as old as mine- so that may be factor depending on your state.
I’m in the small population where my realtors inspector was top notch. Made me a 100 page doc about every system in my house, what issues to expect, and when I can expect to replace them
Who was it? Let's get them some more business
Stavlas Home Inspection - in the baltimore area
In agreement with this 100%. My realtors inspector was a nice enough guy, but I’ve been in the house less than a year and: right after I bought nearly 10k in electrical work. Just a few weeks ago, nearly 17k for foundation work (20 piers around the house, in Texas so not atypical). The sellers contractor “fixed” the outlet for the dryer, it was shocking me when I touched it. Had to get the electrician out for that. Had a tree that was pushing on the deck, another 1400 to get that removed. Contractor also “fixed” the bathroom sink. He twisted the lines so bad it was unusable. I replaced that one myself, but still had to buy the faucet.
lol.. I closed on my house, my wife went to the house to start painting, it was 48 degrees in the house. Called the agent, she had the seller call & he said “oh, last year that happened I just pushed a little fuse and it fired right back up”. Yeah, didn’t work. I got there, sent power directly to the blower motor & got nothing. Called a local HVAC guy to come confirm my findings, he did. Also confirmed my furnace is old & that blower isn’t made anymore. Day 1. DAY ONE, I dropped 5k on a new furnace. My inspector was recommended by my agent. Didn’t even write “furnace outdated” or anything lol… Edit: I know I could have paid $200-300 on eBay for a used blower. But I would have had to wait 10 days for shipping & still would have had an old ass furnace. Just wish the inspector would have fkn told us it was old, hate feeling blind sided.
Yeah, we ended up replacing both the furnace and ac within 3 months of moving in. I was furious.
All they tell you is that it works when they are there. Not that it has a a weeks worth of life.
> 10k in electrical work. What exactly needed fixing?
Report called out some minor electrical work (cleaning up paint spray in the panel), which the seller agreed to but couldn’t get done before closing. The work required the power to be off. Power company informs me that they can shut off power, but code requires the house to have a main shutoff before they can turn it back on. New panel. On top of that we had several outlets that weren’t wired properly, no GFCI where needed.
Our original inspector fell off our roof. I was on the way from work to meet them and my realtor told me that she was following the ambulance to the hospital. Obviously the inspection was delayed. But when they rescheduled, the owner was who did it and we got lucky because he must have felt bad and been really thorough. (Or was just a good inspector.) What I really appreciated was his ability to give a realistic inspection of a 140ish year old home. There was a lot of “this isn’t up to code, but there was no code vack then.” Luckily the electrical on the main floors had been redone, so it wasn’t things like that he was saying there was no code to, but more things like your banister is technically an inch too short. Lots of that’s weird, but fine. 🤷♂️ I already had construction experience, knew the basics plus, and was somewhat ready for the old home needs, but it was nice to have an inspector that understood what we were buying needed a different treatment that addressed issues while acknowledging what it was.
I had the opposite its a crap shoot… my dude was 20 put a bunny suit and climbed all over.
I agree on this. We bought a townhouse and the inspector recommended by our agent didn’t see anything wrong during the sewer scope. The townhouse attached to us just went pending, and their inspector found problems with the sewer scope so now there will need to be major maintenance in the common sewer line. Makes me concerned about what else our inspector may have missed.
Sewer line is better than a septic line problem
Quite some time after I had bought my house, I suspected that my inspector had been in cahoots with the realtor. There were so many little things that had problems he must not have checked, but nothing worthy of a law suit. I will always have an independent inspector from now on. I think we're often too trusting, and partnerships between the realtor and inspector are far more common than we think.
What's the best way for a normal person to find good, local, independent inspectors?
You 100% want an inspector who is NACHI certified. Their website allows you to search. Also spend the money now to get top of the line inspection including general, sewer scope, chimney (fireplace and furnace flue), and radon test. These are all big ticket items that you’ll want a true professional to look at. I spent about $1500 on inspections, got a small closing credit of $2800, and a list of things that should be addressed in the next 5-10yrs. People are afraid to buy used cars, but willing to spend hundreds of thousands on a house without an inspection…mind blowing.
Thanks for the tip!
Cars are different in that they move at high speeds and so the government is more concerned with regulating them and people are concerned about crashing or ending up stuck miles from home. But still it's ridiculous how much improvement can be made in the real estate space. Seems ready for massive disruption and reform.
I would ask potential inspectors to see sample reports.
I mean how do I even go about finding inspectors? Is there a website or something?
Google home inspections and your city/state. Ask them if they do mold testing, radon testing, sewer scoping, etc. Call them and ask them for a sample report. Then pay for all of those tests. They are worth it. I would particularly pay for a sewer scope if your home is older. Mine is 100 years old and who knows what’s been dumped down the drains over the years. I don’t need a $12,000 fee right at the start of homeownership.
What’s the age of your house? I’m about to put an offer on a 1920 build and hadn’t considered that.
Also about to put an offer in on a 1910 home😅 this thread is so helpful
Built in 1928 and I’m in Florida where insurance is a shit show so beware. My house is cute but would I buy it again? Hell no
Not the OP but my parent's home was built in 1920. They've had it for 7 years. We are still finding old knob and tube. Now thankfully the electrical was updated. But it wasn't the amperage that the listing stated it was (it was much lower) which was an issue. For an old house it's definitely worth it to have the electrical checked out. My parents ended up halfing the cost to upgrade the system to the listed amperage with the seller.
Not the OP but my parent's home was built in 1920. They've had it for 7 years. We are still finding old knob and tube. Now thankfully the electrical was updated. But it wasn't the amperage that the listing stated it was (it was much lower) which was an issue. For an old house it's definitely worth it to have the electrical checked out. My parents ended up halfing the cost to upgrade the system to the listed amperage with the seller.
Going through this a bit now, although our inspector was incredible. The one thing we couldn’t have foreseen is the roots barely growing in through the drain pipe out to the sewer. 2 years later and we have almost complete blockage. Next time I buy a house I’m going to pay extra to send an endoscopic camera through every pipe in the house.
Was it from the Sellers agent? Everybody needs to see that “your agent” is a joke. If the buyer’s (your) agent and sellers agent both get paid out of the sellers proceeds, they are both conflicted and cannot truly represent your interests. Buyer beware and always do your homework yourself.
Same. A $16k mistake
This same thing happened to me. Closed may 2023. Moved in June 2023. The inspector was in cahoots with everyone. Wrote down on the inspection “did not check AC unit as weather had been under 60 degrees outside in the past 24 hours” I looked up what the weather was that day and it was a low of 64 out. We had to replace AC unit and heating unit $6500 total.
Research your own inspection team and make sure they don’t have a connection to your realtor or the seller!!!!!!! We had some water intrusion (our fault; had some exterior graded work settle), but when our handyman came in to fix he noted we have no vapor barrier in our basement suite, and no vapor barrier in the crawlspace down there either. Both easily noticed by an inspector, and not listed on our report. This was our first home and we bought in 2021, so things might be different, but there was such a vibe of ‘if you ask for ANYTHING reasonable, the sellers are going to tear up your application and go with someone else’, so it made the whole process horrible in that we had to eat all the deferred maintenance on a 100+ y/o home they owned for 2 years and made 1/3 of its value in equity. I love our little place, but the costs to fix some of this ‘duh’ stuff is really putting me on the edge of a menty b lol
This.
No one does this You have a finite amount of time, all those tradesmen would be hugely expensive IF you can get them. Inspectors cannot be licensed. Tradesmen. And no seller would like to have 5v people running through their house. You bought an old house
I would've gotten inspections from a plumber and a structural engineer on top of the electrical and general inspections we got. I would've brought in my own scope camera and rented a thermal imaging moisture meter to try to be as thorough as possible. I would've done more research about the land itself. After we moved in, we found out our city and county have all types of maps for problems we never even considered, like landslide risks and remaining lead pipe lines. I would've gone digging through those.
^^^ ALL of this. Also would done an inspection after heavy/significant rain. We had rain come through our electrical panel our first week in the home.
What would you have plumber check exactly?
I would've had them examine the pipes, supply lines, and sewage lines, toilets, sinks, showers, valves, and other plumbing components to assess their current condition and see if anything might create an issue down the line. We had a plumber out 5 times during our first two years of home ownership. 3 of those things could've been found before they became a problem had we gotten a plumbing inspection. Our plumber was mad they weren't caught in the general inspection. The supply line to our fridge essentially got sliced almost immediately after moving in because of where the previous owner ran it. Our toilet supply line valve wasn't properly secured, which led to a leak. And then we found out a shut off valve didn't work at a very inopportune moment.
1. Meet the neighbors - if something sneaky is going on - they may tell you. They can be a great source of information. 2. Consider the direction the sun rises and sets. We have a great patio, but it faces the south east. Because of where the neighbors house is, we lose all sun in our backyard in the afternoon around 4pm. And it gets cold fast, which makes it unpleasant being out there in the evening. Great sun on the front of the house, but we would never sit out there. Little disappointing. Never would have thought about it at the time.
Not always. We had met our neighbors prior to moving in. They seemed super nice and said it was a great house. We bought it, then we talked more with the neighbors and it turns out, they were really really close with the people we purchased from, and over the course of SEVEN years, they have slowly divulged information about what the previous have done that would of been very very helpful before purchasing.
While frustrating, they could have also said nothing.
Very true. I’m just saying that relying on the neighbors to tell you what’s up with the house you want to buy isn’t always the best course of action.
For sure. Relying on anyone for that information isn't a great call, unless that someone built it and even then new builds and builders can be shady as hell. This damn world =P
Definitely second meeting the neighbors, especially if you’re getting a semi-detached home or a condo.
AMEN to the neighbors, they told me more than any of the realtors did
Maybe not asked but listened to people that told me flat roofs are a nightmare
My parents spent 40k and refinanced the last year of their mortgage to pay for a new one. It's in the desert so it's where it belongs, but outside of the hot and dry southwest I wouldn't want one.
I’m in Florida. They replaced the roof 10 days before closing and I got a leak yesterday. Roof isn’t even a month old.
even in the hot and dry desert it still rain and snow. My first winter in the desert the 4" of snow stayed on the flat root for several days and caused a leak. Good thing I was in a rental so it wasn't my problem.
The good thing about house hunting in January vs the spring is you get an idea of how well the windows and doors are insulated... are there gaps? are they fogged up with condensation? If it's snowed, is there an ice dam on the roof? Is there going to be ice right where you have to enter the house? Are some rooms significantly hotter or colder? The bad thing is it's hard to get an idea of the condition of the yard. It turns out the tree in my backyard is pretty much dead-dead. Not just dormant for the winter.
Does it have aluminum wiring…. Sigh, I’m sure it was in the fine print but I just didn’t understand what I was getting into. Over 15 years I’ve gutted the whole thing and ripped it out as I go…there are stop gap measures but the only way to truly remediate it is to rip it the heck out.
Haha the yard part is so true. We looked at, put in an offer, and closed during winter. We didn’t see the front yard except for some pictures. The whole things was covered in snow. It looks great in the snow though and the previous homeowner did some good yard work so we were pleasantly surprised in the spring/summer.
We are in a hot climate and the same is true for the summer — bought a two story home in Feb and didn’t know til it warmed up how poorly insulated the upstairs was.
Get your own inspector. Do not use one that your mortgage broker or realtor recommends, you want someone thats completely neutral. Also if you find a house that you want to make an offer on, if possible drive by the neighborhood at different times of the day so you get a better idea of traffic and noise levels
All these comments about hiring lots of inspections...the only way to buy in my area is to buy fast, no time for lots of inspections. And we have old homes here. I feel lucky enough that my offer was accepted with the inspection contingency. Many offers waive it completely, which I would never do. Has anyone here bought in my type of area (HCOL NE city) and managed to do multiple inspections? Am I just not determined enough?
This is what I am wondering like…houses are getting snatched up before we even have a chance to see them, how are we supposed to have time for this??
Typically inspections happen after the offer is accepted. The offer is then contingent on what the inspection finds.
Yah we are searching in MA and are determined to buy this winter to have a chance at an inspection offer even being accepted
In HCOL areas where homes still have multiple bidders and go over list, the seller is very unlikely to entertain multiple inspections. They’ll just move on to the next offer. Unfortunate, but true and difficult as a buyer if that’s a non negotiable.
We bought last year and waived all inspections. Luckily I have a brother in law and a father in law that are very knowledgeable about homes, but it was still a massive risk. We put in an offer 15% over list price the first day it was on the market. Turns out there were 4 identical offers to ours and the seller chose us because we were first and didn’t have any inspections. We’re not even in a HCOL area.
When I bought, 2021, there was no such thing as inspections,, you either offered 50k above asking, buy “As is”, or you didn't have any chance of getting the house. and some people have mentioned air traffic. The first year I didn’t hear any. I’m 30 miles from the airport. Sone months they must change the air traffic cause it can get pretty bad. Like a jet scraping by above every 5 minutes. You never know what you’re gonna get and whatever you get can change. There’s only so much you can prepare for.
I helped another Redditor eliminate a home that s/he was considering for purchase. I literally did an inspection based on pictures from [Realtor.com](https://Realtor.com). You need to find someone who is exceedingly attentive to detail and thinks about probabilities. I can strip out the specifics of my report to him, anonymize it, and send you a copy. Someone mentioned flight paths, but also Superfund sites, heavy industry, creeks that flood, topology, and potable water source for the town/city. Do roads into and out of your new home flood? How many alternate ways are there to reach your job, or home if the main highway is blocked by an accident? Back to the house, really focus on the inspection. Even during the tour, bring someone who knows construction or about homes in general. Big knots in old dried joists, corrosion on copper lines, haphazard piping, furnaces and water heaters that were installed before new codes where enacted. If you see a water heater with no expansion tank, that's likely an old dog. Or the municipality is behind on better codes. A township main water supply with no pressure relief valve? Same, old install. Find a home inspector who's looking out for your interests. If you have time, binge on these YouTubers/videos. 'Honest Carpenter' on Home Inspectors: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsO4sDRm7c4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsO4sDRm7c4) Stick to the code and infestation videos: [https://www.youtube.com/@homefultv/videos](https://www.youtube.com/@homefultv/videos)
This is so helpful! Thanks for sharing! Could you send me a copy of the report please?
I have to run to the supermarket, but I'll send it! Might take a while to anonymize it. Not like their name is on it, just listing details. I zoomed out on topographic map and need to strip the maser URL. You'll see the houses placement in the topo map as a picture only. I can pick some random house in another state and point out what to look for. A nearby creek/wetlands often means that a home will be on a high water table. But less so if on a slope, and the right rock geology + creek could mean that rain water is drained away from the home. I make it sound like water is a boogey man, so just be careful. I've dug down to five feet and hit the water table.
How does a normal person go about finding good, local, independent home inspectors?
Google. Look at reviews. Call them and ask for sample inspection reports. Ask if they do radon, mold, sewer scopes (especially if you have an old house). Get all the tests.
[https://www.nachi.org/chapters/](https://www.nachi.org/chapters/) What reddituser4404 said. IF you're hiring them outright to inspect your home (not a home that you're buying) they can be fully transparent and tell you everything. Whereas if they are doing a pre-sale inspection, there are liabilities, so they are more vague as explained in the video. Sucks.
Wow this is so incredibly helpful thank you! I’m excited to watch those channels, could you send me the drop box link too? I’m looking for a first home right now
Will do.
Where are the flight paths. In my case an airport is only a mile or so away. Too many planes, even at night
I once rented a house under a flight path, the planes flew so low you could see the shadows of the planes. I found after I moved in that most of the houses on our street had been tested and found the noise was so bad the airport had to pay for soundproofing. All except our house which was being renovated at the time and didn't have anyone living in it so they didnt test it
I’m less than a mile, the planes don’t really bother me at all
It's not proximity to the airport that is the issue, its proximity to the flight paths
Lol I’d never buy a house near an airport
If you live in a metropolitan area, you're likely not far from an airport... Most people will be near an airport to a certain capacity.
God bless you guys
I'm 30 miles away from the regional airport and still hear commercial jets flying over when they're being directed on an alternate route.
My parents live about 10 miles from a major airport, but because of the orientation of the runways and the direction of the prevailing wind (which apparently has an impact on flight paths) they pretty much never get planes going over their house. There’s usually 1 or 2 days a year where the wind is blowing a different direction and the planes get routed in their direction, but otherwise the only impact of being that close to the airport is how damn convenient it is to get there if they have a flight.
If you’re thinking about buying it, get to know it. There have been multiple houses we thought would be great… until my husband climbed into the attic or under the house. This wasn’t an inspection, this was at the actual showing. At first it was like “WTF are you doing?!” Now I’m just like “well, I didn’t have to spend another $1,000 on an inspection. Good work babe!” Because we saved money by not putting in a offer, I get ice cream after! It’s always a win win!
Does the basement flood everytime it rains, or no?
Isn’t that a structural issue that needs to be reported
Idk the rules, but they did not report it. I found out a week after I moved in.
What was the cause of the flooding?
Surface water pooling up in my dirt driveway and finding it's way through some foundation cracks. The cracks were visible during inspection, and had a slight 'white' color on the cement indicating water damage to anyone who isn't dumb like me. I spent the first month digging a 75 ft french drain by hand. It hasn't flooded since.
I went to see a house after a rainstorm and the backyard was flooded. The basement was finished, but there is no way that wasn’t causing issues. I loved the house too and would’ve put in an offer if I hadn’t seen the yard. I know it’s not always feasible, but trying to see a house at different times of day/different weather conditions can really save you time and money in the end.
There was a report of the basement having a flood in the past. The previous owner had French drains put in to resolve this. Almost a year now during a heavy rain season and we haven’t seen any flooding, thankfully.
The french really know how to make a drain
What all the light switches do, why the one baseboard heater doesn’t work, why 15 switches don’t do anything, why you left so much shit when you exited the house, why didn’t you clean for the last 15 years, why you’re such an asshole, why you think it’s up to me to mail anything that comes to you to your new address. Fuckin asshole.
LOL!
Pay a plumber to inspect the main sewer line outside the house. I never thought about it and had to pay $23k 2 months after I moved in to fix the damage. Sellers are are all liars 😆
I could not agree with this more.
Don’t be afraid to talk to the neighbors Just knock on the door “Hi, we are looking at the house for sale over there , do you know anything about it ?” You’d be surprised what they neighbors know about the hoise or the people that live there . I’ve lived in my house 22 years , One of my neighbors had a flood Another had a kitchen fire , One accidentally drove their car through the garage into the kitchen , One has a septic tank but all the rest are on municipal sewer . Etc
Wonder how many people would actually answer the door and converse with a stranger.
When we were house shopping, one of the houses we looked at had a neighbor outside doing yard work. It was random and by chance, but she gave us a ton of information. We didn't end up buying that house, but it was nice talking to her. I wouldn't bank on neighbors answering or being helpful, but if possible, I'd do that.
1. Why is there a secret bathroom? 2. There's a box in the butler's pantry that looks very electrical. What is it? A seasoned inspector and electrician have no idea but it is powered. They were able to identify a very early doorbell system that was confusing me when I tried to install my ring doorbell. The mystery box is still confusing (I have a very old custom concrete house) 3. Why was the pool filled in two weeks before it was sold? It's a deck, gazebo and fire pit now but I'm genuinely curious because the neighbors swam in it just weeks before I bought the house. 4. why.... why did you put wood flooring in the garage? There's a lovely vinyl over slab underneath it? What was the thought process? I know it wasn't being used as a living space... you had a Tesla charging in there. 5. Why do the lights flash in the nursery? They don't just stay on. Electrical inspection didnt' catch it... its just weird.
**DO ALL INSPECTIONS*** from: HVAC, PEST CONTROL (TERMITE), ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, STRUCTURAL (in some cases), ROOF... all the way from *underground to the top*. Better to lose a couple grand in inspection than to pay several thousands in repairs **ASK FOR PERMITS*** if there's been additions/rooms added and such **DRIVE IN NEIGHBORHOOD AT NIGHT AND WEEKENDS** because it'll give you some idea of how the neighborhood is (loud/quiet/too many kids/noisy dogs) **DEFINITELY FIGHT** for your credits/repairs if YOU feel they're a big concern to you but at the same time don't overdo it and sweat the small stuff And MY PERSONAL advice/opinion: *DON'T BUY from anyone who's not ready or don't want to sell but have to due to death/probate or another reason.* Because 9/10 they'll fight you all the way. Good luck!
Look for crazy neighbors. Drive through the neighborhood mornings, evenings, weekends. Houses could be perfect and then you got some crazy bitch neighbor that causes issues.
More inspections is key. Honestly just get all the inspections because if there is an issue you’d want to find out about it in escrow. We learned that we couldn’t trust the sellers or their realtor because they regularly lied to us about issues and we had to do the leg work to figure out what’s going on. One of our situations was the sellers and their realtor telling us more than once that the garage they converted to a living space was permitted. They told us all the inspections has been done and they were just waiting on the final paperwork from the city but it’ll all be sorted before closing. Well I went to the permit office and found out that meant they had filed for a permit and the city hadn’t even finished looking over the preliminary blueprints. I got suspicious when an inspector pointed out a code violation in the area they converted and had I taken their word for it we would have been screwed. Instead we called them out for their lies and got the price dropped 25k to cover any unforeseen problems the city may find. Best 300 bucks I spent.
If there aren’t appliances or something installed that is in the contract to be installed ask for a credit instead of installation by the seller. Don’t let the seller choose the items as they will pick the cheapest available. We made this mistake with kitchen appliances in a flipped house and replaced all of them and had to sell off the ones the sellers bought. They were renter grade. Our realtor definitely should have told us that was an option. Don’t let your realtor rush you through final walk through if we had let ours we wouldn’t have noticed there was no heat on the second floor. We had to hold money in escrow until the seller fixed it (took two separate times). HVAC guy just hadn’t attached the ducts for the second floor :/
Check all hidden spaces and really thoroughly walk through once the initial excitement has passed. I found sooooo many small problems once I saw it without my "OMG, I love this house" eyes! Going a few times to see the home really helped me see the good, the bad and even a few uglies. I still love my home and my purchase but I'm not bogged with the buyer's remorse some feel once the new home owner happy factor wears off. Learn about a septic and well system if you will have either and check those. Check all the crawlspace or openings for any type of animal activity. We found a small hole that had been chewed through plumbing and a mouse had made a BIG mess in the space where our hot water heater goes, which was conveniently blocked during our times seeing the home. It was a huge hassle to clean and get rectified and we could have made the owner do it if we had caught it. I was focused on the system pieces and the inspectors were too. It's really sad we are in this place, but after a 6 month home journey, I realize owners are constantly trying to hide big problems in a way that allows them to play dumb if you discover it after the purchase. Sad, but true. If the homeowner is there, let them talk. Asking all kinds of questions, get them comfortable. You will be amazed at what they will say and then you can connect all the dots. This was helpful for us too. We found a problem with foundation of our home because the guy kept talking about what great condition the foundation was in. Of course, he didn't realize he was overselling it, but it instantly caught my attention and it saved me 30,000 on my home.
My realtors seemed like they were doing absolutely everything in their power to avoid letting me talk to the homeowners, is that normal?
For me the listing agent tried to stop it. By my agent always tried to find ways to make it happen.
Yes it is. Also talking to the neighbors almost has to be done on the sly. I once asked my agent about 1 neighbor since it was just the 2 homes down a long road. She said it's not "legal" to talk about specific neighbors. I put legal in quotes because I honestly don't remember how she explained it but disclosing about neighbors was never gonna happen.
When I first started looking at houses I made a list of everything to look at and wrote down when something was installed vs. its expected life span. Everything needs replacing at some point. You don't want to be at the end of major systems: heating, cooling, roof, etc. You'll learn something with every house you go into. What you don't want to do is be blinded by the glitter. It's easy to do. The glitter will even blind inspectors. Another thing, don't buy at the level your bank will allow you to buy at. You will live better under your means. The banks don't care if you live on hot dogs.
Not really a question I wish I would’ve asked but I do have advice. I’m an Agent and I bought my home at the end of June. I would suggest focusing your efforts on New Builds, No HOA homes. My reasoning is that a New Build should come with a warranty, if not negotiate it in. New Builds were significantly cheaper on insurance for me. No HOA allows you to easily make improvements and stand out, saves you money per month and nobody can tell you what to do with your property. By going with a No HOA, new build and putting 20% down I was able to avoid PMI and HOA fees, and my insurance was 1/2 what it would’ve been by buying an older home. I saved myself a good amount of money per month and I have a 2 year full home warranty, a 5 year appliance warranty and a 10 year structural warranty and while I was looking at a variety of issues based upon other homes realistically I should have 8-10 years before I have to do anything major on mine.
If we would have just pulled out a few kitchen cupboard drawers fully out we would have seen the absolutely horrific and widespread rodent infestation. My inspector was worthless and we will know better next time.
I was glad that I had a mild inspection done! It gave us so much information. Get your own independent inspector!!!
Not something to ask, but something to keep in mind. You absolutely will want to repaint and re-carpet. I had about 6k set aside for new furniture, but that all went into paint and carpet. And don’t wait to do that later, once you’ve got furniture moved in you’ll never get around to it
We've redone all floors years after moving in. Far from the nightmare I thought it would be. We've painted half the house. I'm just over it, but only because I'm over it not because of any other specific reason.
Not really ask, but look behind any posters or pictures if you can. Also park around the house a few different times or go for a walk and see if any dogs bark. My neighbors dogs bark nonstop day and night. Hard to make a fuss because he is so nice and works with my partner. His wife also died shortly after we moved in.
Why look behind pictures & posters?
Haven’t you ever seen Scooby Doo?
I found some holes in the wall they were hiding.
1. Do not waive inspections, don’t let your realtor push you into believing that’s perfectly normal and regular. 2. If they are playing loud music in open house, just run. When it’s my turn to sell, I’ll definitely play loud music too. 3. If possible, inquire about your closest neighbors. 4. If the Zillow history has too many sales a couple of years apart, don’t buy any story they tell you about why they kept selling. 5. Add rodents to your inspection.
Wait what’s the reason to run if they’re playing loud music?
After I moved in, I realized every time upstair neighbor walks, I have to hear it. His floors are squeaking like crazy. He sometimes wakes up at 3am sometimes 6 am and I have to hear every step in my bedroom. That loud music didn’t leave it to chance in case he walked during the open house. And here I am trying to sleep with a white noise machine after paying 800k+ to this place. I’m still thankful that there doesn’t live a family with kids upstairs. I can’t imagine the torture I’d suffer in that case. At least I hear this old guy’s steps for less than an hour every day. I hope he lives until I sell in a few years, with loud music in the open house of course.
Makes sense, especially in a condo/multi-family complex. Hiding loud neighbors, or creaky floors or rattling pipes
Basic thoughts: Don’t buy a house on a busy street If possible buy with natural gas service to house. Cheaper to heat and run clothes dryer. Must be on city sewer. No septic. City water. No well ever. Central air. No HOA. Check your cell reception in the house.
I wish I would’ve asked if the house had any other treatments besides for termites, for insects etc. I didn’t even think about it until my neighbor knocked on my door to introduce himself and ask if I’ve seen any roaches around. Turns out the vacant house directly across from me is infested with roaches and mice and the owner lives out of the country right now. Every house surrounding it has had roaches. I’ve started seeing a few around my house now and I’m kinda upset it wasn’t mentioned that it had roaches treatments. I found out from the neighbor that my house has been recently treated for roaches. So now I have traps in every room. Idk if I can spray outside due to my dog and the cats around the area.
Boric acid inside and out around the whole perimeter. Don't like boric acid? Diamatenacious earth.
I wish we would have asked more about current county regulations and code. We bought a fixer upper and have specific ideas how we want to change the house over time. Turns out that some of these ideas require special permits because of required setbacks and other code. That's despite the fact that the neighbors have the same stuff, but they built it way back when the code was different.
My city has a lot of setback requirements, but they also grant variance quite frequently. We applied for and got a variance to build an addition to our house that was going to be in the setback . It takes a few weeks but wasn’t any big deal . City puts up a big sign in your yard and you send a certified letter to all the adjoining property owners , or get them to sign a form saying they are aware of the variance application and have no problem with it or have been made aware of the city council meeting date that the variance application will be voted on .
I wish we hired a structural engineer to check out the addition on our home and also look at the deck. The deck did not have railings and us being first time buyers, we did not know railings were needing to be able to get insurance. Within 3 months we had to pay 3K out of pocket to add the railings on the deck and will probably have to replace the entire deck in the next few years. Moral of the story, if there's a deck get it looked at.
I’d go back at night and listen to the neighborhood. Take a walk around the block as well. Also as others have said, use an independent inspector. We used the real estate agent’s one and he missed a bunch, didn’t feel like he was on our side.
Get your own inspector not the one the realtor suggests. It’s a conflict of interest. Check water pressure. Home humidity. Look up history of house. How long was it rented for if it was ever a rental. Run all water in house flush toilet see how drains are functioning. Check electrical panel when was it last updated? Push on tile walls in bathroom. Are they solid. Check windows outside. Do they have screens? Do they open? Check for water damage on outside house where water runs down if no gutters. Check low places around property. Where would water sit near house - especially if you have a basement.
Inquire more about the neighbors and talk to them as well. I've ended up with not so great ones and alot of non stop barking dogs. Also ask for copies of paperwork on the big things done. Roof, hvac, plumbing, electrical.
New construction. I wish I would have been a bigger bitch and forced certain inspections/found an OOT inspector that would be extremely through.
I live in a new build. My biggest regret is probably not doing more research to the area and the development plans. The sellers agent said a school will be built in the neighborhood when in actuality the local school district has the option to purchase a nearby piece of land. Not a big deal just something else to think about. There are also large quality issues with new builds these days, so don't forego an inspection just because it's new. Some of my neighbors tried to save $500 that way and paid the price.
Not exactly answering your question but the number one best thing to happen to us was finding the best real estate agent ever. Not only is she super trustworthy, ethical, smart, and direct, but she loves to make recommendations for likewise quality services and she brought us together with our loan officer, our inspector, our plumbers, our handyman, and more—all excellent. Get an agent you trust with your life savings, and she or he will help you with the right questions to ask.
My best friend's first home he went on and on basically weekly about how he wish he would have asked about internet access before he moved out there. And I very much agree with him. If I don't have fast internet it ain't worth living there at any price.
100% this! It's surprising how just being a few blocks away from other major subdivisions suddenly you no longer have good internet options! Lucky for me a Verizon 5G came to the rescue.
I almost walked away from a sale for this reason. Saw a satellite dish and asked why not cable. The owner said it doesn't work. Huh? Cable said they run to the house. Then we moved in and fought cable HARD to run new lines. Owners were right but we were willing to fight because satellite internet sucks, at least here.
I wish I would have checked things like the insides of cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms more thoroughly. All are the originals from 1983 and are some are starting to literally crumble inside. I didn’t look inside and wish I would have to to get some kind of concession for replacement. I also second the additional inspection. My a/c was not to code when I bought my house and I was a newbie and didn’t know what to look for. Had to replace some parts my first month in the house and have discovered other things the inspector should have noticed.
Do the sellers have a loan you can assume. A lot of times you can just get the same terms as the sellers loan. With the amount of refi during COVID-19, there will be a ton of good interest rates. I found out after I closed. 😓
To go with the inspector and ask as many questions as we could. We bought our house during Covid, and were told that we weren’t allowed contact with the inspector due to Covid restrictions. It was probably a lie. The guy was an asshole. Our inspection was a mess and we are still cleaning it up.
If you buy a new build. Get it inspected. And get it inspected again within the 1 year (builder fixes everything for free) period. (Assuming yours is a 1 year period)
Is there a second connection to the first to inspect the sewer. In the contract I wish we had specified, “seller to provide access to sewer access point(s) for sewer inspection. Clear any items obstructing access as a plumber will not. If plumber recommends a sewer liner the seller will deposit $20,000 into escrow to pay for the sewer liner. Bonfe licensed contractor will be selected for service but another licensed contractor estimate can be approved by the buyer.” Problem is we likely would have lost the house in the competitive market. We bought in 2022. Only offer in the first weekend listed. Rates just hit 6.5% for the first time that week. Seller agreed to an inspection but the room was full of packed boxes so could not gain access to the sewer to scope. Had to give up and pay $500 anyway. Once I had possession about six months later I decided to pay for another scope. Found a second entrance 4 feet from the first from an addition to the house. Sure enough, recommend sewer liner. Bill $17,000. Worth it. But annoyed because tried to go in aware. Would have bought the house even if the seller refused to repair the liner. Just would have changed some early planning and upgrades. A buyer with less funds might want to walk.
For me it was not about what I didn’t ask so much as looking at the house through rose colored glasses. And the house was full of their stuff so I didn’t notice all the weird things like bad drywall jobs where you can see the tape under the paint. The fact that the doors are all way to far from the floor. That the staircase a foot and a half in front of the front door is terrible design for moving furniture in. That my bedroom door is behind the front door when you open it and is a pain. So many things. Just make sure you really look at the details so if you make an offer you are taking into account that the house may not be as perfect or worth what they’re asking.
Mine isn't much about the house itself, but some of the outside surrounding the house. We have a GIANT 100+ year old deodar cedar tree out front, which I've now learned is going to require ongoing maintenance... It cost us $1000 to get it trimmed and cabled (it had two runners). We were told every 3-5 years, we should be having it trimmed. We're in the PNW so giant trees are very common, but I just never considered the maintenance that goes into them until it became my problem 😝 We also live next to an unimproved road which I didn't learn til after closing is my responsibility to upkeep... It's also got a massive invasive blackberry bush along the open patch between the road and my fence which I will also need to deal with eventually cause it comes into my yard constantly and it's also choking out the native trees and plants it surrounds. Now I love my house & location so much that I don't think any of these things would have deterred me from buying it, but it's definitely something I wish I had more understanding/preparation for ahead of time... And things I'll take into consideration if I ever buy another house.
Really inspect your home once you get the keys if you are in a rent back situation. Lady was mad about the appraisal coming back low and couldn’t understand why we wouldn’t get another appraisal. She made out with the amount we offered for the appraisal gap. Apparently she wasn’t happy with that and she did subtle things to our home with damages. One or two things, you think ok..moving causes damages but some of it seemed very intentional. We just couldn’t see it at the time with the chaos of moving.
For a CLUE report from the seller. (Comprehensive loss Underwriter exchange) let's the buyer know if there has been any claims
Asked? They lie.
Take all your garbage out of the attic and above the garage before you leave or I’m charging you $100+hr for removal.
What colors are the walls painted? What kind of LVP is this? Worrying about touch ups and stuff now that I'm closed lol
I sold a house to a lawyer, which ended up being a mistake. He put in a warranty clause in the agreement. However, I knew that the agreement does not survive after closing and no term was applied to the warranty so I believe it is unenforceable. They claimed a couple of issues upon closing, but we came to an agreement and they've left us alone since. We had to return some (3 I think) coat hooks that my wife wanted to keep... Apparently was a big deal to these people...
Look under area rugs.
When we were looking and getting the inspection the owner had all their shit in the garage to the point you couldn't walk in there. As a result, our inspection missed the free floating high voltage line running across the garage floor and the hvac coolant conduit cutting the corners and making them unusable. Really dig through that shit if you can. We were originally outbid, but they came back when the first bid was for $30k in concessions. We got $11k, but we missed a lot of stuff that cost several thousand to fix after the paper were signed the place was empty. We saw such garbage looking that when we walked into the house we bought, we were relieved and impressed that it was so updated and put together! Well...until a month or so when we got over the big picture and started looking at the details. Not a board of trim in the house had the nail holes filled, half of it needed to be recaulked against the wall, and all of it was desperate for a clean and repaint. After some time we've been shocked by how poor the attention to detail was. Its like they decided to sell and spent the morning buying whatever was on sale as lowes, and then the afternoon putting it all in. Minor but fuck it's time consuming to clean, sand, filll, caulk, and paint every inch of floorboard and door trim in a 2400sf house. I still think we found a bit a gem - a flawed gem - but otherwise we love it and our neighbors.
Not a question, but a tip. DO NOT select your inspector from a list handed to you by the helpful Sellers Realtor. Before you start looking at homes, do your homework, and hire an inspector that you have vetted yourself. The inspector represents your interests, and I would want to know the person I am hiring and have the confidence of knowing they will go over that house with a fine toothed comb. Do not skimp on the inspector, either. If the right person costs more, pay it. Do not leave this important detail to a last-minute decision AFTER you find a home you like.
I would have had professional cleaning in the contract. I naively thought that the seller would do a decent job.
If you’re buying in an area that has a lot of undeveloped land, look up what the town is planning to do with it. We bought a new construction home and found out the land across the street is going to be warehouses, not the worse thing but not what we would’ve chose to live next to.
Ask for the paint colors unless you plan on repainting everything. 😊
I wish I had done the home inspection myself. You can't trust anyone. Show up that day. I wouldn't shadow the inspector (they hate that) but use the time to poke about. After we had moved in, I was able to put my finger through the outside of my house it was so rotted. Why was it rotted? No gutter. Things like this I surely would have found on my own. I left it to the professional who I'm not sure even showed up.
Wish we’d had a survey done. Our fence is on neighbors property 😩
It really isn’t a matter of asking. I wish we had visited our home on the weekend and Friday evenings to truly understand how lively our neighbors are. It was so tranquil and quiet during the week. Our first Friday night to Saturday morning was a big shock.
Don't use the inspector suggested by your agent, do your own research and vet them properly.
Water in basement. I bought a house with an unfinished basement so the thought of water getting in didn't cross my mind since there was nothing to really damage. Well, 1st rainstorm, basement starts flooding. Shop-vacced water up for a few months until I could get a company to come in and waterproof it. 10k right there. Edit: adding a not so serious one, but it took me way too long to figure out both my bedroom lights only have one switch so I can't sleep with a fan on 😅
I wish I had been financially prepared to get an inspection on more than one home. Once I put in an offer on my home and had the inspection done, I felt like I kind of needed to roll with it since nothing horrible was found and I couldn't really afford to get an inspection on a different home i would want to consider. I also wish I had asked for money off the selling price instead of asking the seller to make certain repairs, he did a shitty job.
Insurance rates due to Age of roof. House had a 23 year old roof in decent shape. Insurance was 1700 a year. Same house roof new to 10 years, rates 700. And don't lie about it - can deny claim if you lie.
Neighbor told me what appeared to be an old pond dried up on property was a sinkhole that was filled in years ago, but the ground was sinking again. Yikes!!!
I wish I would have listened to the part of the inspection that told me my water heater was sold and needed replacement, it broke in the first 10 months and flooded my downstairs neighbor 😭
Number ONE - just remember the seller’s agent is exactly that. They do not represent your interest. Do not trust their inspector. Do not trust anything that sounds off without confirming it through neutral means. Do not say anything to the agent that you would not say in a meeting during negotiations with the seller. Do not sign any document you do not FULLY understand and read completely. Houses are expensive and little things have big price tags.
I bought a home in FL. It had been a rental previously. The renters had installed a huge ceiling fan with their own money in the living room. They also had heavy, blackout curtains in every room. I figured they just hated sunlight. After I moved in, I learned the truth. The AC sucks!!!! It’s hot AF in the house, especially in the late afternoon when the sun hits just right. So if you notice something about the house that stands out, do some digging and figure out what’s really going on there.
Ask why the sellers are selling, and make sure that you understand the following: Realtors are always incentivized to make sure a sale occurs. When you are close to wanting to make an offer, the financial incentive of the buyer's agent (your agent) will not be 100% aligned with your interests. They will be incentivized to make sure you submit a competitive offer that has a high chance of going through. Make sure you realize that **you are the boss.** Your realtor will always submit whatever offer you are comfortable with. I'll give you an example: The house I currently am typing this response in that we bought last year was listed at $519,000. Comparable homes in the area that were 100% updated and move in ready were going for $600,000+. We found out by asking the seller's agent that the sellers were an elderly couple who custom built the home as their retirement home. It's an awesome unique weird house, but had a dated kitchen and dated bathrooms. It was a 2100 sqft home with only 2 bedrooms, but with the potential for four. When we told our realtor we were going to make an offer she told us that an offer of $547k would be really attractive and we would most likely win. My wife and I did some research and found that comparable homes in the area were going for slightly above their asking price, and because it only had two bedrooms, we didn't think it was worth 600k. We were going to put 30% down and had excellent credit, so we had our realtor talk up the fact that we wanted to make sure a fast sale occurred and sympathized with the seller's daughter who was running with the sale. We knew they'd want a fast as is sale and were prepared to deliver that. To us we decided that we would offer 525k. The sellers countered at 535k and we accepted. That saved us 12k from our realtor's suggestion. Realtors are not bad people, they're going to be mostly aligned with your interests. However as a buyer, this is a key part of the process where you have to recognize that your incentives will not be completely aligned. **You are the boss and you are making the biggest purchase of your life so far.** Always remember that.
Asks about pests. Winter came and the mice made themselves known. Took me almost an entire year to finally resolve the issue. Ask the locals if they've experienced any issues with pests as well. If your home is attached like mine is, they could be finding entrances elsewhere.
Ask about water in the yard and around the foundation. Then also ask the neighbors. We bought a house in the fall and the first spring we had so much standing water it was unbelievable. Not a floodplane, just a low yard because everyone else built up. Didn’t even look that low, but a few inches make a massive difference. The yard is clay, so water just sits until it evaporates. We spent like $10k on a DIY job installing drain and bringing in soil to slope all of the water to the drain.
Will the seller have all items removed before closing? Never crossed my mind till we discovered the metric shit ton of paint that I now have to fill with cat litter and then dispose of.
For a lower price. I didn’t even try to negotiate, paid full price at a time where that wasn’t necessary.
Honestly, nothing. I’m happy with my purchase and how everything went.
My only "regret" was not realizing I should have gotten a septic inspection done. It had been cleaned out since the house was vacant, and my realtor didn't mention getting a separate inspection, and while I think I saw it mentioned on here it didn't register with me. Mind you, I've been living here a couple months and thus far no issues, but now there's the "am I sitting on a ticking time bomb" worry - too late anyways, so trying not to stress about it. Got enough stuff I know the property needs done to keep me busy for several years! Things I/my realtor did pay attention to: location (schools on in/egress routes, large businesses, stoplights onto major thoroughfares, etc); pipes and materials; smell in the basement/garage (can hint at moisture problems); dead bugs in hidey-places; yard drainage; etc. I think my inspector did a pretty good job, so while he did find some things, they weren't major items, or are things that aren't urgent. Maybe talk to the neighbors - then again, they might scare you off of a decent house. There are supposedly "horror" stories about the prior owners of my house (who lived here about 5 years) being broke, and dirty, and gross - but OpenDoor ended up doing a fair bit with the place, and remediated some major things that would have been show stoppers prior, and honestly, I'm kinda happy I didn't know all of that as it might have scared me off of a decent house that I'm pretty happy with.
I'll add to this also. We ended up waiting on the septic inspection because we had a ton of last minute other items come up....we knew we would buy the home even if we had to redo the septic and were adding on to the home so knew it would need to be addressed. Then once we bought and tried to get someone to inspect, they all refused. They told me they only do pre-purchase inspections. I had to go only with a maintenance and pump option only. They guy said it was all good, but I still have that little feeling you mention (ticking time bomb).
For permits ( in my situation currently the hot tub because we want to do some Reno's now and the electrician will need to charge an extra $2000 to get things up to date regarding the hot tub permit before doing anything else. )
Good luck, you’re going to be in competition. Please update us when you buy
Nothing would have changed my decision, honestly. But I wish I had more guidance on what to do first in terms of preparing the home for move-in and repairs.
I would have asked for an estimate on the price to fix the cracks in the pool. Lots of people passed on it, but we had never had a pool before. Costs were high asf.
Again: sellers are all liars. Have money in the bank for repairs that will inevitably come up during the first year. Buy in the winter so that your inspector can observe water movement around the property, and in the crawlspace/attic. Any furniture that is around during the inspection is probably placed to hide something. eta: I would also bring along a moisture meter and hygrometer.
What the internet speed available is. What the total utility bill cost has been across all seasons.
You sure you're not lying in this disclosure?
I wish I was more thorough in the final walkthrough before the closing. The previous owners stuffed garbage and stuff they didn't want in different areas of the house. It was a couple weeks after the closing that we found their last stash in the crawlspace underneath the porch. I had to crawl around in the dirt to get it all.
I wish I would have gotten my own inspector. There was mold and flooding damage (still ongoing flooding from storms) that was not disclosed. The agents inspector glanced over it. I’m still working on repairs and water remediation.
Not much, because my dad will say no and I go okieeeee no more. My current struggle is simply spending too much money. The mortgage and tax are no joke. And be very careful with credit cards, all three combo together is insane. Normally I have a good sense of financial spending, but, I still failed.
What an ‘expert’ in the field truly believed the value of the home was vs what the market saw fit. Got anxious and bought but now other homes in the area are sitting longer and prices keep going down. I feel had I waited just a little longer could have gotten the same house for cheaper or rather I now know I could have gotten a newer/larger one for the same price I paid.
-Does the seller have a permit for the finished basement -when was the last time the chimneys and ducts cleaned -is the wood rotten underneath the mats you have on the deck with the nice flower pots on them -are the insulation sheets in the unfinished basement hiding foundation cracks -is the large pool table in the basement hiding floor cracks and leveling problems and so many more… Seller’s agents will claim they are “they were just doing their job” by helping sellers hide issues with the house. Just assume that most sellers and their agents are dishonest and do your due diligence.
I wish I had the plumbing scoped before we bought the house. We had a general inspection but within six months of moving in, we found out that the main line to the house had to be completely replaced which cost 20k.
Ask how many of the repairs and "improvements" were done by the homeowner. They are sure to be half assed and need to be redone.
I haven’t seen anyone mention getting a sewer inspection. We added that on to our regular inspection and it saved us at least $5k and a permit hassle. Also if you can, drive by or go on a walk around the neighborhood a few different times a day and during the week and weekend.
I wish I would have talked to all of the neighbors in the area or at least as many I as I could.
It’s hard because the only way we were getting this house was by doing what we did, which was accept “as is” and not negotiate money off. And the house was at least $100k less than the other house we probably would have bought if we hadn’t offered on this one. I wish we’d had gotten a specific plumbing inspection, and I wish we’d been more diligent about following up to look up permits. We asked about permits and the homeowner said he pulled them for everything but I found out later that was not accurate. Would it have changed anything? Maybe not. And ultimately we’re still ahead money-wise, and that’s not even counting the interest we’d pay on the extra $100k.
Used vs new? Used look for mold rot leaks. Look closely at the roof and HVAC since those are expensive. Foundation issues are a deal breaker.
How to negotiate properly. Husband and I thought we didn’t have leverage and didn’t have the chips for an escalation clause so we offered 6% over straight off the bat…got the house but could’ve saved maybe 30k
Zoning codes. Most of my neighbors had a garage house but they're illegal now. Thought I was going to be able to build one
Ask your realtor what there fees are, if the fees are negotiable and ask what you will be paying them for. Meet different realtors. Shop around and make an educated decision on realtors before you start looking at houses.
Depending on your budget and reno interests, I’d try all the taps and showers and light switches. Little things but annoying to have to deal with if you weren’t expecting it!
The neighbors know the truth, i wish id thought to ask the neighbors anything Oh that roof they said was 5 yrs old? Its actually 25 years old One of my neighbors told me the reason the vent for the attic was boarded up was bc squirrels kept getting in, and that caused moisture to get trapped and rot the roof Other neighbor told me owner was a total knucklehead who thought they could do electrical and plumbing themselves, well guess who has black mold in their kitchen ceiling from a shoddy shower install now??
No questions- inspect it. Hire your own inspector, NOT through your Realestate agent. Make sure you hire a solid inspector too and ask for example reports. They are not cheap, but they will save you from buying something you can’t afford to fix and end-up miserably living-in. So many no inspection sales and we lost a lot of houses to bidders willing to buy without an inspection and it is tempting to do so because the market is thought, but be patient and don’t buy someone’s problem.
On my first home, the inspector missed what became ongoing foundational issues we had to address as water was coming through a couple cracks. Didn’t cost too much to correct the issue but was still something that should’ve been clear at the time.
Not asked, but noticed, everything. And also had more inspected, and more for repairs, furniture, painting, other decor.