Looking for advice...

**Telephus44** · 05-03-2008, 05:25 PM

DH and I have been looking at houses. We actually have an appt with a realtor to go look at two of them tomorrow.

Anyone have any advice on what we should look for? Or watch out for?

We've been looking at cheaper houses, but they all need a ton of work (like, not liveable because the heating system doesn't work, or the whole place needs new walls and the roof leaks, or it's on site of an old gas station and they haven't done any EPA testing..). So we're re-examining what we're willing to pay, and looking at houses that are priced a little higher - hopefully enough that we won't have to install a new roof, heating system, or septic tank. But I'm wondering about all of the little stuff. I figured people here would have some good advice for us.

**Megareader** · 05-03-2008, 05:31 PM

Well, since you have a young son the distance to the nearest elementary school might be important. Also take a real good look at the neighborhoods...Do people have trash laying around? Are the yards mowed? And back to you having a young child...check out your states website on sex offenders to make sure you wouldn't be moving in next door to one.

**cissylu** · 05-03-2008, 06:11 PM

also are there any kid`s around ,
and do they have some kid`s can play or hang out.

**Dancing Lotus** · 05-03-2008, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by Megareader

Well, since you have a young son the distance to the nearest elementary school might be important. Also take a real good look at the neighborhoods...Do people have trash laying around? Are the yards mowed? And back to you having a young child...check out your states website on sex offenders to make sure you wouldn't be moving in next door to one.

I second that. The school choices will be important and pay close attention the surrounding houses.

Also if you are going to have to max your budget to buy a house, I wouldn't do it. Wait another yr or two and save. If you don't see a house you like in your price range just keep looking. There will always be homes for sale.

**Cricket1** · 05-03-2008, 06:49 PM

I used to check the sex offender registry before I looked at any house. I had them all mapped out! LOL.

One tip that I learned from a home inspector was (in the basement) look at the bottom stair (on the side of the step). If you see a water mark (just a dark line going across the bottom of it)--it has had water problems. He said that a lot of people that have had water are good at "hiding" the water marks on walls (can be easily painted over), but forget about the stairs.

Rotting wood around the garage door can indicate termites.

Also, don't use a home inspector that a realtor recommends. Always find your own. That way, they are looking out for you (which is what they are suppose to do).

Alot of vegetation close to the house (bushes, shrubs, etc.) bring BUGS close to the house.

If you notice sawdust in the foundation area (in basement) indicates carpenter ants and/or termites.

Look for water damage where the roof meets the siding (fascia boards)--this usually happens when there's no gutters.

Take the whole panel off the fuse box and look at the fuses and wiring. We almost bought a house that had major water damage in the base of the fuse box (we would never have noticed this if we didn't have an awesome inspector). This costs big bucks to replace.

Brownish-yellowish stains on the siding of the house can be excrement from carpenter bees. Our house had this. No big deal, but we need to get sprayed for the bees twice/year. It was good to know it upfront, too. Also, replacing the fascia boards with painted ones deterred the bees.

If the house ever had an inground pool, make sure it was properly disposed of. We looked at a house that had it just filled in. This can cause major foundation damage and can attract tons of mosquitos in the summer because the water will still "pool" in the area that was filled in.

Phew! That's a lot! I'm sure I'll think of more! We looked at a lot of houses.

OH! Also, radon is quite common in New England. Our house has a mitigation system that the last owner put in. Maybe ask when and if it has been tested for radon.

I'm sure you already thought of this, with a toddler and all, but older houses have the danger of lead paint.

Okay--I'm done. I don't want to scare you--I've just learned TONS about all of this.

**Cricket1** · 05-03-2008, 06:51 PM

DH just corrected me--I meant to look at the circuit breaker connections in the breaker box (not fuse box)--depends on what you call it, I guess. LOL

**leezza** · 05-03-2008, 07:34 PM

You might want to check out the website for HGTV they had a show a few weeks ago.....called the top 25 things to look out for when buying a home, I am sure the information would still be on their website.

Take your time and Good Luck.

leezza

**Telephus44** · 05-05-2008, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by AnnK

I second that. The school choices will be important and pay close attention the surrounding houses.

Also if you are going to have to max your budget to buy a house, I wouldn't do it. Wait another yr or two and save. If you don't see a house you like in your price range just keep looking. There will always be homes for sale.

We're not going as high as maxing out our budget - we're just going higher so that we'll put more in the mortgage than in repairs. We qualify for a $400,000 mortgage (seriously - I had to laugh) we were we looking in the $150-$170 range, but have decided to go up a little higher to the $190-$200 range. The goal is to get a house that may need cosmetic work, but I don't want to buy a house $50,000 cheaper and then have to put in a $40,000 septic system and a new furnace and roof. That's the goal, anyway.

I was aware of lead paint, and I always ask about that, but I hadn't thought of radon. And thanks for all of the tips Cricket, I hadn't heard that one about the bottom of the stairs in the basement.

We actually saw one that we really like that the realtor had picked out ahead of time (it was a new listing we hadn't found yet). We've got a couple more houses picked out to look at next weekend, and we'll probably pick some more the week after that.

**Lady_V** · 05-05-2008, 10:57 PM

If you find a house for under 200K... let me know!

We are in the same situation, the houses that are on the lower end... um... have no floors, walls, roof...

We were looking up to 225K, but the real estate person told us there is no way we are going to find a 2 bedroom house that isn't a "Handymans Dream" for less than 275K!

25 Biggest Real Estate Mistakes - HGTV

**jamie79** · 05-06-2008, 07:58 AM

One piece of advice.... move out of Worcester!!!!

**Jerseygirl** · 05-06-2008, 02:10 PM

If you find an older home that you love, have the full home inspection, then have a plumber come in and video the sewer line to the street, seriously, it was approx $100 and should there be cracks, roots etc through the old pipes you will know, before one bursts and costs thousands of $. I didn' know they do this either.

**TheRootedNomad** · 05-07-2008, 07:10 AM

Just some hit and miss houseing thoughts:

Find out if in your area any one can be a home inspector or if they actually have to have some background and training. (I can just hang a sign here and start a new business)If they don't you may want to actually get an engineers report.

Are termite inspections mandatory there??? If not get one of those from a VERY reputable company.

Check to make sure the plumbing under the house is actual pipe and not hose. This would be used in basements or in crawls generally not underground. You don't want this.

If the radon is high you don't need to pay for a radon barrier. It is simply WAY overpriced thick plastic. Buy thick plastic and install it yourself.

Turn on all faucets in the house as you pass them to check for water pressure and noise. Check the age and warrenties on things like the furnace/ACs, water heater, fuse box. (Check for rusting and dark spots in and around the box)

Plaster walls can be a nightmare if you don't know how to hang stuff on them or fix a crack.

Check for mold in the crawl.

**annymoll** · 05-07-2008, 07:32 AM

Good luck on the househunting!I hope you find a wonderful one to make memories in. No tips, just wanted to share that when we were looking for our first house we looked at one they called a "handymans dream." When we got there it was nothing but four walls. Yep, no tub, stool, sink, no nothing.The place looked like a bomb had went off. LOL.Be care of the handymans dream.They should rename it "Candymans Dream."

**Tango** · 05-07-2008, 09:34 AM

My only advice is talk to the immediate neighbours when your alone. Not only can they tell you about the nieghbourhood, they may have information about the house itself. My father was kind enough to tell a young couple that he had been waist high in water in the basement of the house they were looking at.