First Time Home Buyers Should Learn to Look for Defects in Homes

My search for another home and problems I have seen along the way inspired me to create this web site. Doesn't matter if you are buying a large or small home, this site will help you learn to look at a house so you can spot potentially expensive problems. This is especially important information for first time home buyers that have not had to deal with home repairs in the past.

Many people will buy a home, live in it only a couple years and do no maintenance. They may put a fresh coat of paint on the house to cover up water stains and rot then try to sell the home to unsuspecting first time home buyers for too much money. They themselves may have paid too much money for a house they didn't realize would need work. After making their mortgage payment there was no money left for expensive repairs, so they sell the house.

Home prices are negotiable and you don't have to pay the asking price. My real estate agent didn't tell me that when I bought my first house back in 1987. If your real estate agent doesn't tell you that you can offer less, maybe you need a new agent. The agents commission is based on the sale price of the house. The higher the price, the more money they make.

There is a fair amount of information on the web for first time home buyers that covers the paperwork part of buying your first home. Closing costs, mortgages, taxes, etc. I see little information that tells first time home buyers what problem areas to look at when viewing homes. I hope this site will help fill the gap and help you make an educated decision on which home to buy.

Size matters, a larger home may mean larger repair bills, higher taxes, higher homeowners insurance and higher utility bills. Look at different sized homes and decide how much room you really need. A large house with a large yard will be more time consuming to maintain. Buying a smaller home may mean you have more money left over to fix the house the way you want it, buy new furniture or give you the freedom to do other things with your time and money. I keep hearing from friends in Houston that they leave their A/C set on 80 degrees. Not me, I would much rather have a smaller house and stay cool!

You may find a larger house that needs work that is actually cheaper to buy than a smaller house in good condition. This could result in your mortgage payment being a bit lower but your taxes, insurance and maintenance costs could actually be higher. You will need to figure the cost of fixing the home into your budget. Your home value, taxes and insurance could rise a bit every year which will cause your mortgage payment to go a bit higher.

You should of course hire a professional inspector before you seal the deal on any home. You need to know they can only inspect what they can see. They can't cut open walls to look for rot and old termite damage. Many people have told me they had their home inspected and then found major problems a few months later that an inspector should have caught. Your best defense is to know what to look for. That will help you to know if the inspector is doing a good job as well as give you a chance to point out areas of concern and ask questions.

Look the house over carefully before you make an offer and hire an inspector. Using an inspector recommended by an agent making a commission on the sale of the home may not be a good idea. Some have been known to overlook flaws so the sale will go through. Don't hire the cheapest inspector you can find, hire the best inspector you can find!

Many first time home buyers think they are safe if they buy a brand new home, think again, you still need an inspector. Visit the Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings web site to read about problems found in brand new homes. Don't let all these horror stories scare you away from buying a home. Reading the stories should make you aware of potential problem areas so you know what to look for when viewing a home.

When you find a home you like, go visit it a second or third time before you make an offer. This is probably the most expensive purchase you will make in your lifetime, you can't be expected to decide after walking through the house one time. Take a good flashlight with you so you can see under cabinets, inside bathtub access panels and take a quick look around the attic. You don't have to crawl around in the attic but you should at least stand at the top of the attic stairs and take a quick look around. You will likely notice things on the second viewing that you overlooked the first time.

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