Here’s my advice for buyers who find maintenance issues with a home.
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Home inspections can be anxiety-provoking for buyers. After falling in love with a home, the last thing you want is to find issues with it. However, some problems (even large ones) are more concerning than others, so today I’m discussing which ones you can walk away from and those you should make sure to repair.
If a water heater or furnace needs to be replaced, you’ll know how much that will cost you, and you can budget for it. On the other hand, when you run into a problem and you can’t tell how serious it is, you may want to be a little more hesitant about following through. One example is water intrusion; if you’re finding water leaking into the basement or crawl space and don’t know where it’s coming from, you likely can’t predict what will be needed to fix the issue. The problem isn’t that it could be an expensive fix; the problem is that you just don’t know what it will cost, so you don’t know how much to ask the seller for or to budget to mend it.
Some homes have been updated cosmetically, but the seller hasn’t kept up with maintenance. For example, it has an excellent kitchen, but the roof needs major repairs or needs to be replaced. These homes can be very attractive and make people forget the other costs they’ll incur after they purchase them. I caution buyers to consider homes objectively and think through the costs of any maintenance items needed.
The moral of the story is to get a home inspection. It’s better to get into a situation knowing as much as possible so that you can plan for it, rather than going in blind and hoping for the best. If you need a great home inspector, I have contacts I can recommend. Don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or my website if you need anything or have questions. I would love to help you.