Buying a home can be an intimidating process. There are so many things to consider, and it feels like everything is expensive. Inspecting a home, with or without real estate agents, is also intimidating. Most people usually don’t know the ins and outs of the technical systems and don’t know how to check their quality. On top of that, different properties have different things for you to check.
This can lead to the family or couple buying the property or house to feel like they don’t know what they are doing. For them, here is a non-exhaustive list of things you can specifically check for when you go to check out different properties. These are all things for you to check before buying or even thinking about buying a house. Let’s see what they are.
Homeowners Association
You should check with your real estate agents if your property falls under any Homeowners Association. If so, you need to be aware of it, any extra costs that go along with them, and their laws. Many HOAs can be quite restrictive, so these rules would factor into how you would expect to live in the house. Make sure you have a clear idea of them before signing papers.
Basement
When you inspect a property, remember to go down to the basement and check the walls and floors. You are looking for any sign of mold, mildew, or even flooding. Pay particular interest to the bottom of the walls, which could be wet from repeated flooding. Ask the seller or your real estate agent about these and if they would be willing to make payments to fix this damage before you purchase.
Connectivity (Phone and Wifi Both!)
An essential point of interest to check is whether you get mobile reception in all areas of the property. Your real estate agent might not be able to tell you this, so you’ll have to take ownership of this. If you find that critical areas in the property don’t get reception, that might affect whether you purchase the house or not. You don’t want to buy a home and find no reception in your bedroom!
Neighbors and Neighborhood
If you want to save yourself a major headache, speak to your future neighbors before you make any payments towards a property. See if they share similar mindsets with you. Ask them about the neighborhood and the people around your new home. They might bring up points of interest that you can ask your real estate agents about later. For example, you may not want weekly parties if you have kids at home, or you might like a neighborhood that has other young families in it.
Local Resources
You won’t just live inside your home. You will also need to go to the market to buy groceries and would like some basic conveniences that are easy to access from your property. If you have a young family, they will need to go to school, shopping, entertainment, and more. Check online or ask your real estate agent for establishments that would cater to this need.
All Day Environment
One big mistake made is that they visit the property they have an interest in around the same time before they buy a home. Instead, visit the property you like many different times and on different days. This way, you can see things like the noise level, how hot or cold it gets, and many other things that you might not notice on the property when it’s being shown by a real estate agent.
Maintenance Costs
Every property requires maintenance. Whether you buy a small house or a large mansion, maintenance payments are not always a point of interest at the purchase stage. However, you need to know whether you can afford to keep the house you purchase. While you might not care about costs like mowing your own, larger costs like landscaping that would bring your property up to code might interest you.
Parking Facilities
If you purchase a large tract of land, parking may not be a problem for you. For those who are making a purchase in residential neighborhoods, you should get your marking situation cleared by your real estate agent. There may be local laws that allow or disallow you to park on your property. So in the interest of fairness, make sure you know where you and your guests can park before making payments towards the property.
[Image: https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/11/29/03/53/house-1867187_960_720.jpg ]
