At some point in almost all our lives, we are going to start shopping for and buy our first house. Its pretty easy to be caught up in the excitement of purchasing your new home that you might inadvertantly overlook some important mechanical items that may be very expensive in the longrun!
In this house buying preparedness guide, we wanted to take a quick look at some commonly missed things inside the walls of the home, that if not spotted, will cost a lot of money, and might kill your budget immediately!
Check the Heating and Cooling System!
Your new home may look perfect from the living room, but fire up the gas furnace system and assure the heating system works right. Its worth your time to bring in a heating repairman to inspect the system before you buy the house. When you gas furnace cost, you will learn that the unplanned cost of $3000 or more is not far fetched if the furnace needs to be replaced!
A Hole in the Roof Will Soak your Good Mood!
Finding out the roof is leaking 3 weeks after closing is not a good feeling! During the home inspection, you need to make sure the roof gets almost as much attention as the homes foundation! After all, if the roof leaks, everything under it is going to be ruined!
Shaky Wiring of the Electrical Can be Costly!
In 2003, we bought a house that had a secondary breaker panel supplying power to a lower level of the house. Unknown to us, the previous owner was a wanna-be electrician, and the sizes of wiring and circuits were completely wrong for the area. When the heat of summer rolled in on us and we installed a air conditioner to a window, we started popping breakers left and right but it was too late to go back on the seller at that point. A few hundred dollars and several days later, we finally got the job corrected!
The Septic System Can Break Your Wallet Fast!
Leave it to the bathroom to result in the highest cost repairs! If the house youre looking at has an old septic system in the yard, make sure the seller has the septic tank cleaned, and the whole thing inspected by a licensed professional before you own it! More costly than heating systems, the plumbing system in your home can not only leave the house in a weird smelling situation, it will cost thousands of dollars to get fixed!
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