Many people on the hunt for a new house tend to have an image of their dream home in mind while they’re looking. When they find something that closely resembles their dream home, it’s tempting to put an offer down and buy the house right away. However, some homes that seem like a dream could actually turn out to be a nightmare. A home inspection could reveal that the house is unsafe or is in need of expensive house foundation repair. This is why it is essential to have a home inspected for problems before moving in. Some general guidelines to help homeowners throughout there search and home inspection are:
- Find an Independent Home Inspector – Many homebuyers choose to work with a realtor when looking for a home. In many ways, this is a great idea that can present many new opportunities. At the same time, realtors are interested in closing the deal in the end, and they may recommend a house inspector to their clients who is also only interested in finishing the transaction. For this reason, homebuyers should find a home inspector on their own to avoid any conflict of interest.
- Bring a Level Along on Home Viewings – As homebuyers head out to look at houses, they should always bring a bubble level along with them. It is important to make sure that all of the floors and walls in a home are level. If they aren’t, this could be a sign of major structural damage to the home. Not only does this pose a safety concern, but it could also leave the new homeowners with pricey house foundation repair costs after just buying an expensive home.
- Don’t Have the Seller Fix Problems – If a home inspection does reveal problems with the home, it can be tempting to ask the current owners to fix the issues before closing on the house. This is a bad idea because odds are the current homeowners are going to go with the cheapest option for repairs. This means that the new homeowners may still have to deal with the issue themselves, even though it was technically fixed already. Cheap house foundation repair contractors may get the job done at a low price, but they might not have actually fixed the problem.
- Be on the Lookout For Cracks – Finally, new homebuyers should keep their eyes open for cracks in walls at every house they look out. Cracks in walls are a common sign of foundation damage, which both compromises the structure of the home and can be a source of wet basement problems and leaky basement walls. Houses with cracked walls are a bad sign for homebuyers.
Finding a dream home is great feeling, but homebuyers should never be too hasty when they find the perfect house. Their dream home may not be as structurally sound as it looks, and if they buy it, they are likely to face a number of expensive repairs down the road. Read more.
