New Home Buying

I have finally decided that driving 112 miles a day round trip for work is overrated and its time to start looking to move closer. I have already been in touch with the bank for pre-approval, and am working with an agent to find the right house. What I am running into is that I am not sure what questions to be asking or what to be looking at when I am walking through a property. When I bought my last house I had already rented it for three years and we never worked with an agent, my landlords came to me, asked me if I was interested in buying it and that was that.

I know a lot of you have been through this process more than once so can ya’ll help me out a bit. What sort of things should I be asking the agent, what sort of things should I be looking at when I view a property?

Drive by potential properties on nice weathered weekends, gives you idea if its a good neighbor-hood, or just a hood.

If your buying in the country make sure to get a well/ septic test/inspection done.
Also make sure furnace and a/c are in working order. If the furnace is past 15years old it could have a good chance it needs to be replaced. Also check a attick and look on the roof boards to see if there is any water damage. Some of this stuff should be checked buy a home inspector but at times they have no clue what they are doing.

Get a pro home inspector to go over the property with a fine tooth comb. More likely the lender will require this process

Talk to the neighbors and you will see if it is a fit for you. Also good inside info on the home.

When buying a house, most people fixate on things that can be changed. Carpet, wall paint, decorating, etc.

IMO the most important thing is to carefully look at the things you CANNOT change.

1. Visit the neighbors. Really, just talk to them. You would be amazed at what you learn about them and about the neigborhood. You can’t change the neighbors, so if they keep thier place trashy, have barking dogs, whatever, you’re stuck with it. Also, they might tip you off to other wierd stuff. For example, they might let it slip that that guy on the other side of the street likes to mow his lawn while in the buff. If one of the neighbors likes to have his garage band over to play heavy metal on his deck until 3 AM every weekend. I’d want to know about that.

2. Noise. Stand outside and listen for at least 15-20 minutes. Is there traffic nose? Airplane noise? When Mrs. Grouse and I were looking for our first house, I stood outside and noticed that there was a bus route on the street. The damn smoke belching diesel bussues accelerating away from the stop sign a half block away would have driven me crazy.

3. Google the property address. Just make sure there wasn’t anyting funny going on with past owners that might somehow impact you.

All the usual advice applies, but it’s this external stuff that you can’t control that I, personally, would worry the most about. If the roof leaks, you can fix that. If the neighbor is an a-hole, you can’t change that.

Grouse

thanks guys. I knew about talking with the neighbors, but I never thought about just standing outside to listen to the neighborhood thats a pretty good idea. Please keep the suggestions coming I know there is a lot that I don’t know or wouldn’t think of.

Where are you moving to Scott?

Andy,

I am moving somewhere closer to Sioux Falls, dells, colton, renner. Driving from Brookings 4 days a week is wearing on me. Unless of course I could find a good job north but thats not likely, I have been looking for quite awhile and nothing has presented itself.

Sioux Falls will be nice. Watch the SW side of town, there are nice homes over there at reasonable prices but many seem to be built on a swamp. Sump pumps run around the clock. Watch for that if you are looking down that way.

I did the opposite. I moved away from Sioux Falls and settled in Aberdeen this spring. Kind of miss the Sioux Falls amenities.

Meet the neighbors.

Andy Fiolka wrote:

Sioux Falls will be nice. Watch the SW side of town, there are nice homes over there at reasonable prices but many seem to be built on a swamp. Sump pumps run around the clock. Watch for that if you are looking down that way.

I did the opposite. I moved away from Sioux Falls and settled in Aberdeen this spring. Kind of miss the Sioux Falls amenities.

i refuse to live in Sioux Falls, I am going north of there somewhere. I hate the idea of being over an hour to any of my hunting and fishing spots but I would rather have an hour drive a day or two for that then an hour drive each way every day. I would love to be in Aberdeen if I could find the right job.

Here are are few
water stains on the basement floor?
calcium or other mineral deposits on the basement floor or foundation walls?
Anything that appears to be mold on the framing of the house?
Any foundation wall cracks, settling, movement? – Industry standard is up to 1/8″ of seperation. If there is that much, I would be asking a heck of a lot more questions.
Was a proper sill seal foam used or insultaion beneath the sill board to the foundation. If insulation – I would stay away from it. Insulation wicks water from the foundation and will rot the .40 treated sill board
How is the rim insulated? Closed cell? Batt? Min R-21 and iar sealed. – Do you see spider webs flapping in the wind?
Electrical service – fused or breaker? What size service? Will it fit your needs?
Age of water heater, water softener, furnace, well pump…….All have a life expectancy typically of about 10-12 years. How soon to you need to replace?
Exterior –
Roof, condition and age. Avg is 30 years. If its 25 years old, well you’ll be putting out $$$$$
Caulk, flashing, trims, siding, window trims…. If its been neglected for a few years, chances are other things in the home have been neglected. Does the water go out and over on EVERYTHING??? Look for rotten trim edges. If you have rotten spots in the trim, most likely there are other issues.
Condition of windows and sashes? vinyl windows are ok for very short term. The frames warp and move and they all eventually leak air. Wood sach windows =- be ready to fork out some money to replace.
Alluminum clad windows – find the manufacture and approximate year of manufacturing (stamped on tin between glass) and do a search on them. If they had a crappy year or two, you’ll see a lot of blogs blasting them.

Inside – look for any patch jobs in the drywall, stains, discoloration, cracks, bubbles,…..If there are any, there is a story behind it.

If the kitchen has an island, place a clear glass of water filled 1/2 way on it. Walk past it in a couple different directions. If you see water rocking back and forth, you know the builder used the the lowest rated floor joists. If your thinking about adding granite or other stone tops in there…you may over-load the floor in that spot. Fix is web stiffeners.

Are all the bath fans ducted to the exterior? Hard pipe or the cheap accordion springy crap with no insulation.

Remove a few electrical covers and switch plates on the exterior walls. Do you see signs of air leaks? Same for ceiling fixtures.

Attic – how well is it insulated? Energy heels on the trusses or rafter framing with insulation (non-compressed) out over the wall top plate? Spot check a few electrical wire holes in the attic. Were they fire stopped? If not, you have more air leakes from the basement to the attic.

Well, this is about 1/100th of what I look at when I punch list a house

Good luck

Randy has some great tips as to what to look for.

I am a Home inspector and I hear all the time. “I would have never looked for that.” I am in many homes and am only there for my client. Make sure your inspector will have you there at the inspection. I like to have an hour on my own but always do a walk through of the entire home with my client.

Check bare wood to see if it is soft. Have your sense of smell going when you enter the basement.

Have a Radon Test done. It should run $100-$150 with a home inspection and if mitigation is needed many times the seller will end up paying for it. Typical cost is about $1500 to mitigate. It also will help your basement stay drier. THe ground around, roof, attic and basement are important areas to spend the most time looking.

thanks guys these are exactly the types of things I was looking for. I really appreciate the help