We have a section on our site that deals with home inspections. And we recommend you should hire a home inspector when looking at potential homes to buy. But we know that there are people out there who don't hire inspectors. Whether it's because they think they can handle the inspection themselves or because they want to use the money that would be spent on home inspectors on discount postcard printing instead. We don't know. But we still want you to make sure you are making a solid investment, which is why we are going to talk to you about things to look for when searching a home so that you aren't buying a lemon.
We live in a buyer beware market, whether you're looking at buying a car or real estate in London or Riverside. But there are signs you should be looking for that could alert you to potential problems. No home is perfect. Every house has issues. But the trick is finding the major problems before signing off on any contract. One thing you should look for are foundation cracks. This is mostly a problem in older built homes because newer ones are more structurally reinforced because of newer buildings codes. You can check for foundation cracks on homes that have foundations by walking around the outside of the house and looking for cracks. Some homes might be blocked by cement boards or shrubbery though. You can also look at the walls in the basement for water leaks. Cracks that are bigger than your fingernail are signs of concern. You might not have had to worry about such things when living in your Toronto luxury condo, but you will when you'll be in charge of having to do all the repairs.
Sagging roofs are something else to look out for. A sagging roof is caused because the roof bears too much weight. And that is usually caused by there being too many layers of shingles. Heavy amounts of snowfall can also cause roofs to sag. One way to see the roof's condition is by carefully examining it from a distance to see if the chimney and roof line up straight. You can also compare the roof line to the roof line of the house next door. Also check for flat shingles. Flat shingles are good but crinkled or curled up ones can be a dangerous sign. Any home inspector site can help you to find what to look for.
You should also check to see if the doors and windows work properly. Doors or windows that don't open right could be a sign of a house that has a twisted frame. The cause of such a thing could be a poor foundation or missing structural members. The easiest way of checking for this is by opening and closing all the doors in the house. Make a note of any that stick or move weirdly. See if doors fit in their jambs correctly, whether they've been sawed off at the top or bottom and check to see if a door continues to move after it's been opened.
These are only a few things to look for to make sure you aren't buying a lemon. There are also other things to look for such as mold, water stains, failed siding and sloping floors.
Of course most of the tips we have given you can help you in determining whether you should buy a house or not. But buyer beware, because we aren't professional home inspectors. While you are inspecting a house on your own, we still recommend hiring a professional home inspector who knows exactly what they are doing. This is the only way to surely know that you are buying a safe house. Or that you know what repairs will need to be done if you do buy the house. You wouldn't visit an internet marketing Toronto website without reading all the fine print before hiring them, would you? No. So, don't buy a house without making the proper inspections. Good luck and be careful!
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