When you buy a home, along with acquiring a home to provide you protection and a place to live, you also acquire any problems and issues the home has. An older home has its share of charm, character, and details in its design that it can be hard to find in today's types of home construction, but older homes also have more issues. So, to protect you from buying a home that has some expensive and extensive problems, here are some due diligence tips you should take before you purchase an older home.
Hire a Mold Inspection
In an older home, there might be fixtures or appliances that have leaked or are currently leaking, and the homeowner may not even be aware of it. This is why it is helpful for you as the buyer to make sure you discover any forms of water leaks and related mold growth. Mold can grow in damp dark areas of a home, and an older home might have poor ventilation that allows for moisture to accumulate in closets, bathrooms, and cupboards below a sink.
Hire a residential mold inspection in the home once you are under contract to buy it from the seller. This will help you to complete a check for mold within the home, even though it may not be visible. Then, if you do find mold in the home, you can renegotiate the purchase terms to allow for the mold removal.
Your mold inspector will inspect the home and take samples from surfaces that are common for mold growth issues, such as in a bathroom or under the sink. They can also complete an air mold test, which filters the air out to see if any mold spores are floating around, which indicates you have mold growth somewhere. The mold inspector can make arrangements for the safe removal of the mold, or you can arrange for its removal once you take possession of the home and before you move in.
Check the Plumbing Lines
Another area in an older home that can commonly have problems is within its plumbing. Many older homes have their original plumbing work inside the home and connect the home's plumbing to the city sewer line.
These original sewer lines are usually made of inferior materials that have not lasted as long as they have been in use, and the plumbing has begun to leak into the surrounding areas and back-up into the home. The main plumbing line that connects the home plumbing to the city sewer can age, compress, and collapse from the weight of the soil above it, and also become damaged by intrusive tree roots that have found an opening into the line via cracks. Have a plumbing professional check the interior of your plumbing lines with a camera and recommend and complete necessary repairs for your home purchase.
If your home was being appraised today, would you be alright with the condition of the property? Oftentimes, people don't think too seriously about how much they need to do to the space until problems start to occur with their home, which is why it is so important to stay up-to-date with cleaning.
Check out great tips and tricks about cleaning, and learn when it might be time to contact a professional cleaning company instead of taking care of things on your own. By making the right choices now, you could keep your property in great condition, which could save you money down the road.