Purchasing an older home might seem quite appealing to you. You may love the historic charm, or perhaps you’re looking into purchasing a house from older relatives. These features can certainly allow you to live in a charming home. However, older houses can come with a number of problems, so make sure to inspect certain elements before making an offer. Otherwise, you might spend all of your money fixing the house.
Electrical System
The electrical system is so crucial to your home. Of course, you will likely use a number of appliances throughout the day that require electricity. Some older homes only have 100 amp breaker boxes (or even only 60 amps) which isn’t really enough in today’s modern home that uses electricity for everything. Other electrical problems include the house might not being grounded, which is dangerous.
Another dangerous situation involves old wiring. In addition to having problems with flickering lights, regularly blown fuses and so forth, the house may be at risk of a fire.
HVAC Systems
Looking into the heating, ventilation and cooling systems helps to keep you and your family comfortable. Converting from heating oil to gas and vice versa are expensive changes, so you should look for a house that already has your preferred heating system. Also, if you want to have a central air conditioner, purchasing a home with window units means that you’ll need to pay for an expensive upgrade. If the home uses heating oil or natural gas for heat you will need to have a separate Air Conditioning system.
Plumbing Systems
If you don’t want to regularly deal with water that won’t go down the drain and toilets that overflow, you should look into a house with an upgraded plumbing system. While a more extensive investigation is needed to gain a full sense of the plumbing system, simply turning on the sinks and seeing if the water builds up will at least provide you with a hint.
Mold Issues
While you’re investigating the bathrooms, keep an eye out for mold. Of course, mold can grow in other parts of the house like the basement or crawlspace and even the attic if the roof leaks (another very important item to have checked).
Some homes have issues with recurring mold even after the homeowners clean up the space. What you may need to do is hire professional mold removal services, which can prove costly. When mold is the only issue keeping you from putting a bid on the house, find out if the current owners are willing to pay for this type of removal. Mold can lead to serious health conditions, so you definitely want it gone.
As you can see in the above video a home inspection can turn up lots of problems. One single inspection by a professional home inspector can advise you about all of the above issues and more.
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