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Used houses can sometimes be like used cars – examples of the care we'd expect from that little old lady from Pasadena.
Forget the real estate agent extolling the virtues of the place you’re touring. At least five points the agent may not mention can help you into a good deal, and another five may take you back to the drawing board.
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1. Look at the landscaping for mature, low maintenance perennials, a deck or landing, privacy fences or hedges, sound walkways. These are costly items that cannot realize full value in a house price. The same applies to attached garages; homeowners simply cannot recover their construction cost. The buyer benefits.
2. Look for a seller who is a serious do-it-yourselfer. How? Check out the tools inventory in the basement workshop, tool shed, or garage. Look for a router, a quality electric drill, perhaps a radial saw. If, along with these, is an arc welder, so much the better.
Look for small tools as well, such as chisels, screwdrivers, hand saws, a mitre box, wood clamps. Don’t be impressed by socket wrenches, battery chargers, or trouble lights – they only mean the family car is looked after, and you’re not buying the car.
3. Most used houses get a coat of paint before they go on the market. If it’s a professional job, that’s a point for you. Look for roller marks, sags, and skips on the walls. Look for paint runs around trim. If you don’t see them, you’re in luck.
4. Open and close windows and doors. Make sure doors, including cupboard doors, don’t swing on their own. This can mean the foundation has shifted unevenly or the walls are askew. Make sure the doors and windows don’t stick; sticking could mean swelling from excess moisture and that, in turn, could mean wood rot in the frames and jambs.
5. When you’re really interested in a place, do a title search with a view to learning its history. Has it traded hands every time the real estate market escalates, i.e., been treated as a speculative investment, or is it a one-owner. The latter is preferable.
That said, here are a few things to look for in a used house that scream, “Buyer Beware!”
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1. Heavy caulking around doors and window frames, especially if painted over, can be a cosmetic attempt to hide wood rot.
2. On frame houses with new siding, soffit and fascia cladding, try to check beneath to ensure it hasn’t been tacked over old asphalt-base sheathing and rotted hoarding. Both of these can be fire hazards.
3. That new carpet on the basement floor could be covering scaling, cracked, or crumbled concrete; the new paneling on the basement walls (or any walls) could be hiding cracks. If the paneling is in the basement, these could be foundation cracks. If in the basement, check to assure yourself framing, insulation and vapor barriers are adequate.
4. Accoustic ceiling tile may be hiding ceiling problems or, worse, roof problems. Try to get into the attic or upper crawlspace to check the condition of the roof. Look for water stains, especially if the roof has new shingles.
5. Look closely for signs of damp damage. These can include staining on basement walls near laundry areas, slight swelling of walls and ceilings in bathrooms and kitchens, and obviously painted over crack patches. When rooms are all papered, run your hand over the surface. If it’s purely cosmetic, you’ll feel any bumps and swellings underneath. If it's smooth, the owners were more interested in aesthetics than in cutting corners, a good sign for you.
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