Warning Sign of a Bad Home Purchase

Buying a home is a significant investment and commitment and as such it is not something that you take lightly. When you buy a house for the first time, you make a huge one time monetary investment in the form of a down payment but that isn’t even half of it. For the majority of your working life you will also be paying mortgage payments. So, whenever you do decide to buy that dream home, you had better make sure everything is in the right order.

Before you sign on those closing papers it would be wise to make sure you are not putting all of your money into a money pit that will just keep on eating your hard earned cash. These are just some of the warning signs that you need to look out for to ensure that you do not get taken for a ride.

Home inspection is vital to guard against a bad home purchase. You can hire a professional to look at the property but it is also wise to do an inspection yourself. One of the first things you should look at is the ceilings. One of the most common problems you can find in a money pit is water damage. Water damage is a serious issue because it often leads to bigger problems that also happen to be more expensive as well.

To identify water damage, look up at the ceiling for brown water circles. The brown circles usually mean that the house is need of roof repairs. Roof repairs are expensive because it requires specialized tools and people to complete the job safely and properly.

Since water travels down, you can safely assume that there are other problems that will come out, like problems with the electrical and paint. Water travelling down the walls can cause short circuits in the wires. It takes time to find shorts and the longer it takes to find the problem, the more expensive the final bill will be. To check for problems in the wiring turn all the switches on and off as you go through the house. Signs of water damage of the paint in the walls are the presence of small bubbles.

Perhaps one of the most expensive repairs comes from problems with the foundation. Check for flooding in the basement. It isn’t as easy to see flooding in the basement during the summer because without the rains but they still leave clues on the walls. The presence of waterlines on the basement walls is a sure sign of basement flooding. This is important because the presence of water in the foundation can weaken it and can compromise the integrity of the whole structure.

Due diligence is an important aspect of home buying because without it you might lose your whole investment. If you are careful and you keep your eyes open then you might just find the home of your dreams.