Buying a home is probably the most substantial investment most people will make. Recent research has shown that most people make a favourable decision on buying a house in less than thirty minutes.
That’s not very long, especially when we will be spending years in the property, renovating, redecorating, extending and filling it with our belongings to make it a home.
When you do buy a house, it is vital that you spend time (and money!) on bringing a professional to carry out essential structural and maintenance checks.
Without these, you may find it difficult to get a mortgage on the property or insurance. The last thing you want after spending a lot of money on the house is having to pay for emergency plumbing or building due to an issue going unnoticed.
Plumbing
Plumbing can be complicated to check in a pre-purchase inspection because most of the pipework is buried deep underground and is out of sight. You might want to get the experts in, someone like Tunnel Vision specialist plumbers, who can do a full sewer inspection with a camera. They can also check for clogged drains, signs of leaking pipes and have a once-over of your boiler.
Damp
You may also want to get someone to come to the house and check for any signs of damp. If it is an ongoing problem that has been left to develop to a mature stage. You will probably be able to smell it as soon as you walk into a property, but a lack of damp or musty smells do not necessarily indicate an absence of any issues.
You will need to check out the ceilings, walls and around windows for mould or any staining or discolouration that may indicate previous leaks from things like burst pipes, which may have also caused structural damage if left.
Don’t forget to check inside covered areas like walk-in wardrobes or cupboards and timber frames, and other woodwork to see if they are showing any signs of rot.
Life Essentials
Now we have covered the structural stuff, let us look at the life essentials. There is nothing worse than moving into a property to find out that it is in a mobile phone signal or broadband black spot. Especially as so many of us rely on it these days.
If you have children or are planning on raising a family, you will also need to make sure there are decent schools, doctors and transport routes in the area. You will also need to ensure you can travel to and from work.
Also you will want to consider any planned development in the area in the future, especially if you have moved to somewhere with a view or lots of open space around. You might be able to look out over beautiful countryside and open fields now – but in a few years, that might be a sprawling housing estate or offices which may not affect your view, but the value of your property as well.
*Collaborative post*
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