If you’re looking to buy a house, there are countless things you can consider to help find your dream home but you don’t want to put the blinders on and end up buying a pig with lipstick applied by the previous owner.
Here are 8 signs a house may not be a great purchase.
Frequent flipping and multiple ownership changes
While some house markets are hot and house flipping is normal, at some point a house may be selling for reasons other than the market conditions. Check online through Zillow or another website for a history of the home in terms of previous owners, prior sale prices and when the home was bought and sold. A track record of recent selling especially if the prices are similar each time might indicate something. Why would someone buy a home and then shortly thereafter sell it for a similar price that they bought it for knowing that legal and selling fees, they’ll probably lose money on the deal?
Understand your local laws too: Certain things such as a serious crime being committed on the property or the presence of asbestos or mold might need to be legally disclosed by the owner prior to a sale.
Freshly painted areas that might be hiding water damage
Water damage on a concrete, painted or wood surface can be easy to spot. It can also sometimes be easy to cover up with paint. Feel the walls in a basement and around other parts of the home for moisture or softness which could indicate it’s hiding water damage underneath.
Look carefully at the underside of drawers and sinks in the bathrooms and kitchen. Look for wallboard damage around toilets, showers and tubs as well as the laundry room. In the basement, check crawlspaces and look for white chalky markings on concrete walls which usually indicates water seepage. Also check the attic for moldy insulation. Mold hides in dark concealed places that are hard to inspect but mustiness is a smell that can difficult to hide. Mold can be very dangerous to your health and can be costly to mitigate and remove.
Being prevented from seeing parts of the home
You’d think this would be obvious but it isn’t always so. I know a guy who bought a house and when he and his wife visited the house for a walk through prior to closing, he happened to notice the current owner standing in a particular part of the kitchen and not moving. My friend didn’t think much of it until after he and his wife took possession of the home and he happened to stand near the part of the kitchen where the prior owner had been standing. When he flipped the light switch on, he felt a bit of a shock underneath his feet that was noticeable when you stood on that particular area. My friend had to call an electrician in to take a look and found out that the previous owner had clearly done some electrical wiring incorrectly in the kitchen that caused a shock when you stood in a particular area.
If you are prevented from looking at a particular room, crawlspace or attic of a home or the sellers or their agent aren’t forthcoming with information, be very careful because it’s likely they are hiding something.
Cracks and patches particularly on the foundation and basement walls
While small cracks on concrete walls and foundations are to be expected, once they reach a certain size it can be a sign of big trouble and large repair costs. The cost of structural repairs in a home can cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair and even make the home unlivable due to the danger involved.
Cracks in the basement near a corner that is larger than 1/8″ can indicate a serious problem. A vertical foundation crack that is wider than 1/8″ is also a sign of serious trouble that a professional needs to take a look at. Also look for cracks in walls, over doorways and windows and also check to see that doors and windows close properly. Doors and windows that don’t open and shut easily may be a sign of serious movement of the foundation and structural problems.
Musty and damp smell in the basement
While home sellers often do things during an open house that they read online to make their home appear more appealing like bake cookies before you arrive to give in a pleasant smell, watch out for clues that they’re trying to hide something. Room fresheners particularly in the basement, crawl space or bathroom might be a sign they are trying to hide a bad smell, mold or other problem.
Look for signs of mold which often appear in places that are damp or have water. The attic, basement and bathrooms are common areas to check. You can smell mustiness and see mold as well although only a qualified mold professional can legally diagnose it. This is why having a home inspection is very important to have a second set of eyes – and a professional at that – looking for things they are used to seeing in the homes they inspect for a living.
Speaking of home inspections…
Funny business with the home inspection
You may have a home seller or the agent representing the seller suggesting that you may want to skip the inspection to avoid a delay in the sale or that the home won’t last and this will help you close the sale before someone else buys it. They may even incentivize you to skip the home inspection. They may provide you with a home inspection that was paid for by them or perhaps from someone who had also tried to buy the house but ended not going ahead with it due to financing or some other reason.
Or you might lead yourself to believe you should skip the home inspection and just buy the house because it “looks” good to you and you don’t want to find out about something that will prevent you from buying your “dream home.”
The cost for a home inspection usually ranges between $300 and $500 depending on the size of the home, where you live and what is being inspected. Regardless, it’s a fraction of the cost of the house that you’re about to splurge on but can potentially save you thousands of dollars or more in unexpected repairs.
The house is in a flood zone
For homes located below the water table, flooding is a huge problem for the obvious reasons – significant damage to the home and the potential of drowning being at the top of the list – but the bigger picture is the threat of living in a home where the flooding could occur at any time. Flood insurance is often an extra (paid) component of your home insurance that may not be included as standard. Given the threat of flooding in your home area, the cost could be very prohibitive.
Even if your home is not located in a flood zone, homes that are situated in areas that could be problematic during a heavy rain storm or torrential downpour can also suffer from flooding and wet basements which can lead to mold and dampness that can affect your ability to enjoy the home and resell it at some point.
A dictatorial HOA or one with money problems
Buying a home that has a home owners association or HOA is increasingly common. As we’ve spoken about on this website:
61% of new single home communities now have an HOA system
up from 46% in 2009 with the southern and western US having the highest take up.
Whenever the HOA needs to repair a common element of the community that constitutes an urgent repair or special assessment, you may be forced to chip in with thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars of your own money to cover the cost. And it’s legally enforceable that owners must pay for these repairs.
An HOA can have a great impact over the financial and overall management of the community up to and including telling you what you can and can’t do outside your own home. If you don’t play well with others when they enforce rules, joining a community with an HOA might not be your best choice.
You can’t opt out of an HOA so if you buy a home that exists in that sort of community, you’re stuck with them. While you can join and take part in the management of an HOA, a bad one can make living there difficult to the point of hurting home values and even causing you to consider moving.
Summary
Buying a home is of course your biggest investment and it’s sometimes hard to not fall in love with a house that you really want. I know the feeling of doing a home inspection and hoping that it turns out well or having to walk away knowing that there is a problem too big to ignore.
One thing to remember: If you are buying a home with a salt water pool or specialized equipment such as solar heating, it’s likely you may need to find a home inspector who has experience with that particular technology as average inspectors may not have the expertise.
Here’s a related article about home ownership you might find interesting: How Can I Appeal My Property Tax Assessment? (Save Money)