House viewing checklist for buyers
12 min read
Written by Andrew Donald
on
Our comprehensive house viewing checklist will prepare you with questions to spot any possible issues with the home. Think like a home inspector as you tour through your homes of interest and insulate yourself from any unwelcome surprises down the line.
Exterior property checklist
- How does the foundation look? Is it straight? Or are beams and walls crooked?
- Is the roof flat and symmetrical? Or is it uneven? Does it sag in certain areas?
- If the house is made of brick or stone, is the mortar cracking or crumbling?
- Is the exterior paint job in good shape, or is it peeling and splotchy?
- If the house has aluminum siding, what's the condition of it?
- How's the sidewalk? Does it have cracks? Does it incline towards the home?
Windows, doors, and roof checklist
- Are the shingles damaged? Are they crumbling, curling, or lifting?
- Ask how old the roof is, ask if it's presented any problems to the current owner.
- Are the door frames square and straight?
- Are any of the windows cracked or damaged? Can you feel air coming through?
- Has any caulk dried out and diminished?
Interior checklist
- Do the floors creak or give as you walk on them? Do they tilt in one direction?
- Do the stairs creak or feel unsturdy? Are they wobbly?
- Are there any off-color patches on the walls or the ceiling?
- Are there any indications of water leakages?
- If the bathroom or kitchen has linoleum tile, is it bubbling or peeling?
- Do all the drawers, closets, cabinets and doors open smoothly and easily?
- Do the ceiling and walls seem straight and well-aligned?
Basement checklist
- Are there any cracks you can spot on the walls or in the foundation?
- Is there a dampness to the basement? Does it smell musty or stale?
- Are there any leaks? Ask if there have been any in the past.
- Is the property located on a floodplain?
Attic checklist
- Does the attic have proper insulation? When was it installed?
- Is there a fan located in the attic? Or a lack of ventilation?
- Are there any open air leaks?
Electrical
- Check all the lights, are they all functional?
- Check out the fuse box and circuit breaker, does everything work?
- Are there enough outlets? Are they placed in a convenient way?
Plumbing checklist
- Turn on the taps. Check the showers, bathtubs, sinks and yard hose.
- How's the drainage? Is there any backups or clogs?
- What about the water pressure? Is it too strong? Too weak?
- Does the water have a strange smell or color?
- Where does the property source its water? City water, or does it have a well?
HVAC checklist
- Ask how old the furnace system and hot water heater are. What's their condition?
- Is there central air-conditioning or window units?
- If it has window units, are they included? Do they need repair or replacement?
- Ask the listing agent about heating, electricity and water bill information.
Pest checklist
- Look for any signs of termites, cockroaches, mice etc.
- Take a close look at any wooden beams for small holes, sawdust accumulation.
Exterior property issues and solutions
- Does the foundation of the home itself appear to hold itself up? Are the walls straight and sturdy? Or is it leaning? Are certain beams or walls crooked?
- This could point to serious structural problems
- Is the roof flat, symmetrical and strong looking? Or is it uneven? Does it sag in certain areas?
- A roof that's sinking into itself could mean: a leak or water damage, excessive weight from snow or roof materials, or that it's built with poor quality materials.
- If the house is made of brick or another material that requires mortar between the cracks; is the mortar cracking or crumbling?
- Weak mortar could mean: the mortar mix was poor quality, the house is settling into the ground, or water is getting inside the cracks and expanding and contracting.
- Is the exterior paint job in good shape, or is it peeling and splotchy?
- If it's in bad shape, you can ask the seller to remedy this as a contingecy.
- If the house has aluminum siding, what's the condition of it?
- If it's dented, damaged or dirty, you can ask the seller to fix it.
- How is the sidewalk outside the house? Does it have cracks? Does it incline towards the home?
- If the sidewalk is cracked enough for people passing by to trip on, this could present a liability hazard. If someone were to get injured, the landowner is liable under California law. If the sidewalk is inclining toward the home, this could suggest water is seeping into the foundation and basement.
Windows, doors, and roof issues and solutions
- Are the shingles damaged? Are they crumbling, curling, or lifting?
- Damaged shingles can signal that water is leaking into the roof.
- Ask how old the roof is, ask if it's presented any problems to the current owner.
- If the roof is built with quality materials age isn't necessarily an issue. However if the roof has presented issues for the current owners, it might mean it needs to be entirely replaced.
- Are the door frames square and straight?
- Uneven door frames can allow small pests inside the home, as well as making it harder to heat or cool your home. Not the most expensive or complicated repair, but important to point out and think about a repair contingency.
- Are any of the windows cracked or damaged? Can you feel air coming through?
- Maintaining your desired home temperature can be difficult if there are cracks, these will likely increase your air-conditioning or heating bills.
- Has any caulk dried out or diminished?
- Again, insufficient or damaged seals will make it more difficult to maintain a set temperature in your home.
Interior issues and solutions
- Do the floors creak and make noise as you walk on them? Do they tilt in one direction?
- Most of the time squeaky floors are caused by temperature and seasonal changes, but sometimes they can reveal shoddy carpentry, or indicate that the floor is reaching the end of it's lifespan.
- Do the stairs creak or feel unsturdy? Are they wobbly?
- This is sometimes just a mild annoyance, but might suggest that the stairs have experienced a lot of wear-and-tear. The timber treads have likely shrunk over time. This could either be a simple repair, or a complete replacement depending on the age of the stairs.
- Are there any off-color patches on the walls or the ceiling?
- Lines and sections that are off-color can be caused by a factor like wetness, cold spots or static combining with particles like dust and soot in the air to create what are called "ghost marks". If there are large discolored patches that are more blob-like, this infers water leaks.
- Are there any indications of water leakages?
- Water leakages are quite obvious, and look similar to discolored puddles that appear on the walls or ceiling. Getting behind the panels and fixing the leaks can be expensive, not to mention the possibility of mold growth.
- If the bathroom or kitchen has linoleum tile, is it bubbling or peeling?
- Bubbling linoleum can just mean that the application was lousy, and the air bubbles were never rolled out. Or it can mean there's a large amount of moisture in the sub-flooring.
- Do all the drawers, closets, cabinets and doors open smoothly and easily?
- If not, you can ask the seller to repair these.
- Do the ceiling and walls seem straight and well-aligned?
- Sometimes this lack of symmetry isn't anything but an aesthetic nuisance, other times it could point to issues with structural integrity. Be sure to ask if you spot crooked walls or ceilings.
Basement issues and solutions
- Are there cracks in the walls or foundation? Does it smell musty, stale, or damp?
- Any cracks could mean that water is leaking into the home. If there's a strange smell, this could mean prolonged moisture and humidity has allowed mold and mildy to thrive. The solution could either be very expensive, or as simple as dehumidifying the basement.
- Are there any leaks? Ask if there have been any in the past.
- If there have been leaks originating from specific spots, they might present a problem again in the future. Inquire when the repairs happened, and if the problem has re-emerged since.
- Is the property located on a floodplain?
- If the property is located on a floodplain, ask about if flood insurance available? Has it flooded in recent history?
Attic issues and solutions
- Does the attic have proper insulation? When was it last installed? Is it laid out properly?
- Insulation replacement can be expensive, ranging from the low to high thousands depending on the size of the attic. Improper insulation leads to higher HVAC costs, and can also leave gaps where pests can make a home for themselves.
- Is there a fan located in the attic? Or a lack of ventilation?
- Without an attic fan, attics can get incredibly hot in the summer, and collect a lot of moisture in the winter. Attic fans help regulate the temperature and humidity. If there isn't an attic fan, look for signs of moisture damage.
- Any open air leaks?
- A sealed attic will help regulate the temperature of your home and bring down AC and heating costs.
Electrical issues and solutions
- Check all the lights, are they all functional?
- It's easy to miss these as it's a tedious process of making sure everything is working. You don't want to miss any electrical issues before you make a decision.
- Check out the fuse box and circuit breaker, does it all work? Is it properly labeled?
- An old or outdated circuit breaker could be very inconvenient to replace once it finally kicks the bucket.
- Are there enough outlets? Are they placed in a sensible way? Or are the homeowners using extension cords and power bars?
- Sometimes the electrical is very poorly planned, and homeowners have to resort to an array of extension cords and power bars to fuel their electronics. This is an expensive and inconvenient fix.
Plumbing issues and solutions
- Turn on all the taps. Check the showers, bathtubs, sinks and hose outside. Is everything working?
- A lack of comprehensive plumbing is a massive red flag. If you're in love with the home and willing to overlook it, try to get the sellers to fix the plumbing issue.
- How's the drainage? Is there any backups or clogs?
- If the clog were easily fixable, one might imagine that the sellers would have done this before home showings, unless they're in a hurry and selling as-is. Ask about the drainage issues, if they've been a consistent problem, and if plumbers have been called in beforehand.
- What about the water pressure? Is it too strong? Too weak?
- High water pressure is a serious issue. The pipes may not be able to contain and control the flow, leading to worn seals, leaks, and water damage. If the water pressure is too low, this could be caused by: an issue with the supply-lines, pipes that are damaged, clogged or faulty, or an issue with the water meter valve or pressure regulator.
- Does the water have a strange smell? Color?
- Water with a strange smell or color could mean many different things depending on the color and specific smell. Bacteria could be growing in the pipes, water heater or well. Chemical runoff could be penetrating into the well. Or the pipes could be composed of a material thats reacting to the water from the city. In any case, this is a massive red flag.
HVAC issues and solutions
- Ask how old the furnace system and hot water heater are. Are they in decent condition?
- If these are on their last legs, keep in mind they're quite costly to replace.
- Is there central air-conditioning or window units?
- This is up to preference. Central AC units are rather expensive to install and replace, but provide central cooling and filtering which can be important for people with allergies. Window units are much cheaper, don't have the same quality of filtration, and only cool one area of the home.
- If it has window units, do they come with the house? Are they in need of repair or replacement?
- Sometimes the sellers will want to take their window units with them, make sure to ask if they're included in the sale. If they are, make sure they're in decent shape.
- Ask the listing agent about heating, electricity and water bill information.
- This will give you a general idea about the costs, but everyone lives differently. The previous owners could be frugal or comfort-focused with their resource usage, but it'll give you a good baseline idea.
Pests issues and solutions
- Look for any signs of termites, cockroaches, mice etc.
- Listen for any squeaking and scratching noises. Look out for small droppings in the basement and attic. Try to smell for any musty rodent odours. For cockroaches look for tracks of black dust, and smear marks on the floor.
- Take a close look at any wooden beams for small holes, sawdust accumulation.
- Termites are not only expensive to get rid of, but devastating to the structural integrity of a home. A prolonged termite infestation on a load bearing wall can be difficult and expensive to fix.