Home » What to expect when buying a home – some potential problems

What to expect when buying a home – some potential problems

Buying a new home comes with a ton of surprises. While you may have reviewed the blueprints, you don’t really know a home until you’ve lived in it for a while. For those who have just purchased a new home, here are some things to look out for that you might have missed.

This is a guest post in collaboration with Alycia Coloma.

1. Loose baseboard lining

The last thing on your mind when buying a house is the state of the baseboards. Although reattaching baseboards is a simple process, this is a time-consuming endeavor that you may not have the time or money to for.

Check the baseboards before you purchase a home and see if you can work out a deal with your home warranty company to have these issues fixed before move-in.

When you’re first house hunting, you don’t immediately fixate on the nature of the baseboards. You’re more interested in the overall structure, flooring, walls, and so forth. If you like the concept of the house, only then do you need to dig deeper and discover more about the property.

2. Some windows won’t open.

When pitching a potential home to house hunters, many agents casually forget to mention that some of the windows refuse to open. Instead, they focus on all the open space you’ll have for furnishing your home and other intriguing factors to distract you.

Whether it is because the house is old or the weather has glued them shut, the fact is that the windows don’t open. Window issues tend to slip through the cracks unless you’re prepared to look out for them.

When you’re browsing potential homes, check to make sure that all of the windows in the home can open. The last thing you need is to pay for window repairs, especially if this problem is consistent throughout the entirety of the house. If issues with your windows do occur, you might also need to purchase storm windows, which is another costly expense to add to the repairs you’ll need. Yikes!

A pair of hands holding a model of a house and a set of keys to depict buying a house

3. Cheap appliances appear

At first glance, the stovetop, oven, refrigerator, and so forth appear to be in working order. It isn’t until you finish setting up after your move that you realize that they are the cheapest appliances you have ever seen, and you can’t believe that the previous homeowners purchased them.

Don’t get yourself stuck in this mess. Check the state of the appliances before you purchase a home, and be prepared to make appliance repairs ahead of time.

4. The pilot light has issues

So, you’ve noticed that the temperature of the shower is inconsistent, and the water pressure is unpredictable. You check out the attic and, after no initial conclusion as to what is actually going on, you realize that the pilot light has burned out!

A faulty pilot light is one of those rarely discussed but prevalent technical issues that the leasing agent or previous homeowners either failed to tell you or did not know about.

You always want to have your home inspected thoroughly before you decide to make the purchase. Dealing with the pilot light and other inner workings of the house is a headache.

The bottom line of buying a new home

Now that you know some of the common problems people miss when they are buying a home, you can take proactive measures and address these issues before sending in your down payment. When buying a new home, keep in mind that your first impressions may be off base and that many things will not be in the best condition. It’s best to inspect your future home multiple times before sealing the deal altogether.

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