 It’s a great day here in Orem, Utah! Last week an agent lamented to me that that they were working with a buyer who had already walked through 60 homes waiting for “The Right Feeling.” “What does that mean?” I asked. He went on to say that his buyer did not really know what to look for when inside the home. My lovely wife Shelly thought it would be a great idea to create a quick list of "Red Flags" for a buyer to refer to when they visit their list of prospective homes they are thinking of buy. Here are 5 "Red Flag" biggies in a white paper format that you can pass along to your friends and clients.
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#1-STAINS ON THE CEILING -
While falling in love with the interior of the home and looking up at the light fixtures, prospective buyers should pay particular attention to the ceilings in all of the rooms. They should look closely for stains and cracks that might be indicators of leaks and/or structural movement. If they are identified on the initial visit, the buyer can ask the seller for details before making the offer. After hearing the seller's explanation the buyer can decide on the plausibility of the seller's explanation The home inspector can then be alerted about the staining and be on the lookout for water entry and movement evidences.
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| #2- STAINS AROUND THE TOILET BASES - |
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Leaking toilet bases are very common in residential structures and this can cause a lot of structural damage. When toilets are installed, they cannot be over tightened or the toilet base can fracture. Nobody ever warns the owners to re-tighten the toilet base after a month of use. As a result, the toilet can be easily shifted and break a gap in the wax ring seal. What’s a “wax ring seal” you ask? Well, it’s the soft seal that your toilet base sits on and if it is loose, sewage water can leak around the toilet base and it allows water to pass through to the subfloor and cause damage, mold, and rot. Pretty gross, but unfortunately, pretty common.
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I recommend that buyers look closely around the toilet base for signs of subfloor swelling or flooring discoloration. This means that you should pull back any decorative carpets that could be concealing the visible damage. As a water entry expert, I use a non-invasive moisture meter around the base of every toilet to identify leaking conditions that have not yet become visible to the naked eye (or that have been “staged” to cover up any potential signs.
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#3- STAINS ON THE OUTSIDE WALLS OF THE HOME –
| Water drip stains and cracks on the exterior of the home are often visible signs of water entry and unseen damage. I recommend that home buyers walk around the outside of their prospective house during the daylight hours and look for water drip staining. This is most visible on stucco and brick exteriors, but it is also visible on vinyl, wood, and composite-sided homes. It is usually related to multi-level roofs that terminate against vertical walls, and below chimney-to-roof joints. Please visit www.Kickout.info to see the damages related to missing roof flashings called the kickout flashing. |
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Kickout flashings were commonly omitted on most Utah homes up until about 2 years ago. Look closely for any and all stains and cracks and then ask the seller about any past exterior cracks, leaks, or repairs. Identifying the full extent of damage goes beyond the scope of a normal home inspection and requires a water entry and stucco expert like myself. This specialized inspection needs to be performed on homes where you can visibly see these signs of water entry to determine the scope of the damage so that it can be dealt with before you buy the home.
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| #4- FILTHY FURNACE - |
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This may sound odd, but I recommend to prospective buyers that they remove the covers on the furnace and see what condition the unit is in on the inside.
If there are cobwebs, dust, soot or major rusting, then perhaps the buyer can add the repair/replacement of the furnace on the list of contingencies in the initial real estate purchase contract. Furnaces can range anywhere from $1,200 to $4,000 plus installation, and therefore home buyers need to do everything that they can to ensure that they are protecting themselves from buying a home with a furnace unit that is ready to fail.
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| #5- POOR EXTERIOR DRAINAGE - |
Walk around the exterior of the home while maintaining a distance of about 10 feet away from the foundation. Look at the earth between you and the foundation. Ideally the earth at the foundation should be about 6" higher (or more) than where you are standing. This promotes surface water drainage away from the foundation. Unfortunately, about 95% of the homes I inspect have areas that are either level or much lower and surface water is drawn towards the foundation. The collecting water will then search for hairline cracks in the foundation and draw water inside the home. This results in damage, mold, rot and is also a big attractor for subterranean termites. This condition can be easily corrected when it is identified, yet most Utah homeowners are oblivious to the negative grading issue.
Using this quick reference “Red Flag” list, it is our hope that home buyers will be able to avoid wasting their time on homes with huge issues. Avoiding major issues saves negotiation time, appraisal fees, inspection fees, and allows the home buyer to better find their diamond in the rough. Once they do, then they can invest in the professional inspection services of Michael Leavitt & Co Inspections, Inc. to help validate their original purchase decision by revealing the true conditions of the property.
Michael Leavitt is the owner of MLC Inspections, Inc. (www.TheHomeInspector.com) and he has been serving inspection clients along the Wasatch Front since 1995.
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DOWNLOAD THE PDF VERSION
5RedFlags.pdf (250kb)
*PLEASE NOTE: The pdf version of the "5 Red Flags For Home Buyers" is a distributable version that you can share with friends and clients as long as it is shared in its original layout. If you would like to use the article in your marketing newsletters, then please contact us at 5RedFlags@TheHomeInspector.com for permission.
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VACANT HOME WARNING - METH TESTING |
 Vacant bank owned properties bring with them the lack of any meaningful disclosure information. Buyers should beware of the risks associated with methamphetamine contamination.See our specialty website for more information regarding meth testing.
www.TheMethInspector.com |
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