Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Things to pay attention to when looking to buy a house...

Does anyone have a list of items that you look for when you go to buy a house?

We started one after we bought the house on Slade, and we have gradually added to it over time.

If you have any additional suggestions, please leave a comment...I would love to hear them!  I know there are lots of things that aren't on here that would be helpful in the hunt this weekend.

Here is our random, running list...


  1. Has basement ever flooded?
  2. Have seller fix as much as you can have them do on the inspection list
  3. Drive by at different times of the day/night to check out the scene
  4. Pay attention to how busy the street is
  5. Do windows open?
  6. Age of roof!
  7. Are shower heads tall enough?
  8. School district
  9. Pay attention to neighbors and their yards, dogs, etc.
  10. Fenced yard
  11. Get different mortgage quotes
  12. Security system?
  13. Gas/Electric appliances
  14. Motion sensor/outside safety lights
  15. Age of AC/Heater
  16. Age of water heater
  17. Paint condition – chipped, cracks in walls, etc.
  18. Cable jacks/phone jacks
  19. Water pressure
  20. Air return location
  21. Level Lot
  22. Window treatments
  23. Lead paint
  24. Electrical – all up to date?
  25. Flooding of yard?
  26. Sex Offenders close by?  (I know that sounds weird, but we learned to take this into account after we moved in and learned there were a couple sex offenders living in a house close to us)


Hmmm...I would love to live on post if I could get one of these houses...

3 comments:

  1. Garbage disposal; does the area have a recycling program; is there a park nearby for Glory; are there screens for the windows; what shape is the flooring in and what is underneath it; make sure there is no mold under sinks, behind fridge, or around the dish washer; is the insulation good and in all the walls/ceilings it should be; do any of the windows/doors leak air or water; depending on the foundation, are there any problems with the house settling (for example, are all the doors squared and can they be fully opened and closed); are there any nasty trees or vegetation you wouldn't want to deal with; are there any dead spots in the floor (could be a sign of rotting underneath); that's all I can think of for now. Have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Of course now that you have kids, you have to also look at it from their perspective and how much work it is going to be child-proofing. The three that have impacted me the most are cabinets, door handles, and stairs. How easy is it going to be to child-proof the cabinets? We added internal hinges to ours, which work ok, but have moved things that are really dangerous to a pantry closet where we have a child proof handle on the door. Those only fit over certain type of handles. Also, the steps, wooden, steep steps are really going to be tricky for him to master. Even crawling backwards could be slippery. Just things to consider, not necessarily deal-breakers. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. These are all great thoughts, Ry & Krissy! Thanks so much for adding. This is going to be a great list to keep expanding!! We were thankful that we had recently added 'water in basement?' to the list...esp. when we entered several basements today and stepped into puddles....NO THANK YOU!

    ReplyDelete