What should I look for when looking at houses?

Question

When walking through various houses with my real estate agent, I often look at the curb appeal and other obvious things about the looks of the house. I want to know other things that I should look at in the house before considering making an offer.

Answer 1

A good trick for buying a home is to remember that you have to live in the house at all hours of the day and night. Go by the house you are interested in, during the early evening. When the people of the neighborhood and kids are playing. This will help you to determine the character of the neighborhood. Check out the neighborhood in the morning and during the night. Get a home inspector to check the home for you for he will see things that you never will. Foundation flaws etc. Talk to the neighbors. you are going to have to live with them and they will know the gossip that you should be aware of before you purchase. What day is trash day and what time do they come by. Is it 6:00 in the morning at full volume? are you close to an airport. any overflights? Distance to schools, market, fire department? Things that will make a difference if you plan to live there for any length of time. Mostly common sense. good luck

Answer 2

Is it a solid structure? Cosmetic things can be easily fixed, but structural issues are often a deal breaker. Make your offer contingent on your being satisfied with the home inspection.

Floor plan is probably the biggest issue for home buyers. And it is very personal. What works for some absolutely won't for others. Make a list of "Must haves" so you don't lose sight of what is important as you look at homes. (i.e. large master bedroom, family room, area for entertaining, a deck, etc.) Decide if the space is functional for you and your needs now, and into the future.

Good luck in your house hunt.

Answer 3

Also keep in mind what is included with the purchase price.
Are the appliances included (are they junk?) Find out how old the furnace is (what is it rated for)
the hot water heater (what is the age and capacity).
How old are the windows, are they vinyl clad or the old wood type.
Check the ceilings carefully for water spots.
Go into the attic if there is one, sometimes water won't be visible to the eye.
Get up on the roof if you can do it safely. Or have someone do it for you, look for peeling shingles and bare spots.
If there is a basement, check it out carefully, look at the walls for signs of water damage.
Sump pump age and type if there is one (is there a back up for it?).
Find out if the owners owned pets, have they damaged anything you will have to fix?
Were the owners smokers (you may need to paint right away).
And finally check out the electrical system. Is it up to date?

An assessor can help with much of this. But rather than pay someone everytime you look at a house, get people you know who are knowledgeable and get their input.

Keep in mind that unless you have a buyers agency in place with your Realtor, they work for the seller. Which means the job is to get the sellers price or as close to as possible. Most realtors want that in place, it is a guarantee for them that they get paid if you buy the house and it protects you too.

Good luck - Are you preapproved already for a loan? If not, get with a Certified Mortgage Planner to do that. Not all loan officers are CMP's. A CMP will truly assess your eligibility for that loan. And if you have that pre-approval in hadn, it makes your Realtors job easier when it is time to write the offer.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or if you need to find a CMP in your area. [e-mail]

Answer 4

Foundation of the house. It's very important because we don't know how the foundation is. The house may look very nice and attractive but if the foundation is not good enough than you could have problems later. Make sure about this with good engineers.

Answer 5

I would look for the number of bathrooms, bedrooms, and how large the kitchen is. A large kitchen is a plus, also the view of the house. Out windows etc.