Homeowners Are Sharing The 24 Problem Areas That Go Unnoticed In Most Home Tours, And They're Crucial
Buying a home is hard enough as it is, but on top of all the expected hurdles that come along with it, new homebuyers often have to deal with unforeseen hardships like leaks, flooding, asbestos, or something worse.
Lucky for us, first-time homebuyer u/intoxicatingBlackAle recently asked homeowners on the popular r/homeowners subreddit what frequently overlooked things they recommend checking before one buys a house. Here are some of their most useful answers:
1."Natural light. My home in the woods was so great when I looked at it in the summer, but in the winter, it got very dark, especially with the popcorn ceilings (where the texture leaves tiny shadows all over the ceiling) and lack of overhead lighting in the main living space."
2."Be wary of a freshly painted basement or a freshly finished basement."
"It hides water stains from water damage."
3."Is it in a flood zone? Are all modifications permitted and inspected? How old is the roof and does it have two layers on it? Are there easements on the property? Was a survey done recently? How old is the sewer or septic system?"
4."Street noise, neighborhood noise, neighbors. Visit a place at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. It will be different then than at 2 p.m. when you’re visiting the house."
"We passed on a house that had neighbors close behind on an elevated lot, giving them a perfect view down into the backyard. We drove by at night on multiple occasions and they loved sitting outside on that side of the house playing loud music. This place sold just a few years ago and recently went up for sale again. Not sure if the neighbors played a part."
5."Closets. We fell in love with our first house and completely forgot to look at closet space. It had the tiniest pantry and no coat closet."
6."As beautiful as a big tree in the front yard is, roots are a huge factor in having to replace your sewer main which can be $10-20k+."
7."Living in the northeast, I’d check to see if the property is considered 'historic' or on a historical registry. If it is, the county/state can prevent you from making changes to the property in many cases."
"I know several people who want to do fairly innocuous and practical things to their property (like take down a dilapidated shed) and cannot because their property has some historical value."
8."My two cents is outlets. I saw it in a TV show or movie once; dude didn’t wanna buy a house because there weren’t enough outlets, and there turns out to be some merit behind that!"
"Our house is very old, and the bedrooms weren’t designed with a TV in mind. There aren’t any outlets for lamps where the nightstands go. We got creative with some hidden extension cords to make sure we can have light beside the bed and have a TV but I definitely didn’t notice it until we went to start furnishing."
9."It's mind-boggling how many people are buying extremely outdated or 'in need of repair' houses in this market and have no grasp of how expensive some work is, especially when they don't know how to do the work themselves."
Paramount Pictures / Via giphy.com
"I see it all the time: people buying houses over asking value, skipping on inspections just to get the place, and then [going] into shock when they realize they're going to need $50k, $100k, $150k+ to get the house to a point where they want it.
This market is in favor of people who have never maintained their houses or haven't renovated in decades because they're making a killing on the inflated prices."
10."DO NOT BUY A HOME WITHOUT getting a home inspection. Add on radon and mold testing. It's better to pay a couple of hundred dollars upfront rather than thousands later on."
11."You really have to make a list of all the little mundane things that matter because when a house is staged very effectively, it can cause you to see everything with rose-colored glasses."
"A competent decorator will notice deficiencies that cannot easily be fixed and find ways to compensate for them.
For example: If the house doesn't have many windows, they'll put mirrors all over the place to reflect more light and make it seem brighter.
If the house is small, they'll use mirrors to make it seem bigger. They might also use glass furniture to minimize the appearance of a cramped space.
If the fixtures are made of cheap materials (e.g. hollow doors, vinyl windows), they'll stage it with furniture made of higher quality materials like finished wood and marble to draw your attention away from the fixtures."
12."Is there an HOA? What does it cost? What does it do for you? Do they have a history of being predatory, charging fines because your grass is more than four inches long or they saw a weed in your yard?"
13."The direction the house faces. In cold climates in the U.S. (and probably the northern hemisphere in general), if your house faces north you will have to deal with ice throughout the winter because it doesn’t get enough sun to melt."
"Even houses that face other directions might have that issue if they are in the middle of a block."
14."I wish that we had visited the house during a rain storm to see how/where the water flows."
"Our patio was not level and all the water flowed towards our house. The drains couldn’t keep up. Our basement flooded a few times because of this."
15."As a new home buyer I was told by my dad and my real estate agent that older homes are a bit of a headache. I didn’t really care or take it into consideration because of the charm they have."
"We got a 1946 home, and now that charm has worn off. There’s a lot of updating to do. Things I thought would be an easy fix can be, but I can’t get started until another thing is done, and the other thing might be more expensive."
16."Open and close ALL the windows."
17."Do NOT buy a flipped home. Avoid them at all costs!"
"I own an HVAC company with my husband. You would not BELIEVE the shady, dangerous, and illegal things they do to homes. I will not ever, ever, ever buy a home that was flipped."
18."The direction of natural light. I found my mood got way better when I moved to a house where the bedroom is on the west side, and the living room is southeast facing. Not waking up with the sun glaring in through cracks in the curtains and not spending my whole day sitting in darkness was worth extra money to me."
19."Barely anyone ever goes up into the attic. A lot of people don't even at least pop a head up for a peek."
"Up there's where you find roof leaks, shady wiring, etc. If a house has a finished basement, the attic is sometimes the only place you can get a look at things that are behind drywall everywhere else.
You can't see down into walls, but you can take a guess at what's in walls by the state of wiring in the attic."
20."The neighbors."
"Anything in a house can be changed or fixed, except your neighbors. They can make the rest of your life rewarding or a living nightmare.
Consider knocking on a few doors, and have some shortbread or chocolate chip cookies to share. Introduce yourself and let them know you are thinking about moving into the neighborhood. Ask some open-ended questions, e.g. things they like about the street and things they are concerned about.
If they are ready to talk, that is a good sign. If they are slam-the-door-in-your-face people, that will tell you something as well."
21."Does the house have good cellphone coverage? Call a friend and walk through all the rooms and the basement, too."
22."Hire two independent home inspectors who don’t know each other. If the home has a well, have the water tested (from multiple sinks) by two different companies. And ask where the dryer vents are and when the vent was cleaned last."
23."If a toilet is on an exterior wall and you are in a cold climate, go to the next house. It's likely to freeze when the temps plummet for several days."
24.And a final piece of advice: "No matter how hard you look, you'll find things after you move in and wonder how you didn't notice them."
If you have any thoughts or if anything pressing is missing from this list, feel free to let us know in the comments down below — especially if you're a homeowner, home inspector, or other home professional. Or, you can write in anonymously via this Google form. Who knows — your answer may be included in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
