Whether you are planning on selling or not, these are the most common issues that house inspectors find when doing an inspection of a home. By addressing these issues now, you won’t have to worry about them should you decide to sell in the future.
Many problems within your home can be hard to identify or are easily ignored. One creak in the floor or strange smell isn’t usually enough to alarm homeowners, but persistent problems such as these should never be overlooked. If overlooked, many problems in your home can lead to serious damage.
In this article, we’ll go over five commonly overlooked house Inspection Issues you should always keep an eye out for in your home. These problems include signs of structural damage, environmental problems, and more.
Termite damage
Structural damage caused by termites is often overlooked by homeowners simply because the damage can be hard to spot. Termites cause damage within the structure of your home as they eat away at the wood within your walls, floorboards, furniture, and more. If a termite infestation does enough damage to your home, the weakened structural integrity of your home can make it unsafe to live inside. To tell if you have termite damage, you’ll need to look for these signs:
- Hollow-sounding walls or wood
- Small ant-like flying bugs or wings around your home
- Tunnels or patterns in wood
- Creaky floors
- Buzzing or “headbanging” sounds within your walls
- Termite droppings
- Mud tubes around the foundation of your home
- Wood damage
If you don’t look for these signs, you may find yourself paying thousands of dollars to repair termite damage if you have an infestation. Termites cause billions of dollars in damage to U.S. homeowners each year, so this is not a problem you should be messing around with.
Termites can be found pretty much everywhere, so don’t think the location of your home will be safe from termites.
Roof Leaks
Like damage caused by termites, repairing or replacing a roof is also very costly. If roof damage or roof leaks are left untreated, it’s possible for other parts of your home or even have the roof cave-in itself. This is extremely dangerous, so always keep an eye out for roof leaks or other roof damage no matter if it’s in the house you are living in or your are trying to avoid some serious house Inspection Issues.
You should be on high alert for roof problems if your roof is extremely old. Roofs are meant to last for decades, but will need to be replaced at some point. Some signs you should look out for include dark spots on your roof, water stains in your ceiling or walls, missing shingles, damaged parts of the roof, and more. If you can’t afford to replace your roof upfront, you can always find a company that offers payment in the form of payment plans to help split up the payments.
Strange Smells
A strange smell that comes and goes quickly typically isn’t cause for alarm, but if you notice persistent smells in your home, you should take notice.
Although there may be a temptation to cover these smells with air fresheners or try to purify the air using houseplants.
However, some strange smells are indicative of more serious problems that can pose a variety of problems such as health problems, electrical problems, and more. The types of smells and possible causes you should know include:
- Rotten eggs: gas leaks or electrical problems
- Fish: electrical problems
- Sewage: sewage leak or damaged sewage seal
- Burning: electrical problems or something burning
- Musty: mold and mildew
- Urine: pests or animals
If you notice any of these smells and can’t immediately identify the source, call for help immediately. A gas leak or mold problem can cause serious health problems, and electrical problems can quickly start a fire. You also probably don’t want any pests or animals to die and be left to decay inside your home.
Environmental Hazards
It’s possible your home can be contaminated by environmental hazards such as pollution, mold, sewage, pesticides, asbestos, and more.
You should be on the lookout for these hazards in any home, not just to avoid house Inspection Issues. But it is especially important in older homes with outdated building standards. These hazards can also lead to serious health problems, especially from materials such as pesticides, asbestos, lead, or even radioactive materials.
Many of these problems can be hard to find, but should be included in your inspection upon purchasing your home. You can also have environmental hazards tests done at any point.
Keep an eye out for any unusual smells, tastes, or symptoms such as headaches or nausea. If this becomes a problem, avoid using whatever it is the source of smell or taste is coming from until you can be sure if it is safe or not.
Foundation Problems
Foundation problems in your home can lead to unsafe living conditions if the problem becomes severe enough. Don’t worry about one squeaky floor or a crack or two.
As your house settles in, it will eventually be prone to cracking. Most foundation problems are due to water damage or a physical change in the soil beneath your home.
But, if you notice severe foundation problems such as several cracks on the exterior and interior of your home, sagging or uneven floors, space in between windows, then you should call an expert to get the damage fixed.
Fixing your foundation can be expensive, so its best to identify the problem before any serious damage is caused.
Don’t Ignore Problems Until It’s Too Late
Even if you are not currently trying to sell your house, don’t ignore these common house inspection problems. They can become more costly to fix if left untreated, or even jeopardize the health of you and your family. As a homeowner, you should be prepared for problems like these and be ready to pay to repair things out of pocket — that’s just part of being a homeowner.
Houses that fall until complete disrepair, even those that end up being abandoned eventually, often started out with common problems that were not address when they should have been. These problems can build upon each other causing irreparable damage.
And, of course, these aren’t the only potential problems you can run into as a homeowner, but they are common enough to be aware of. You should always be on the lookout for anything unusual in your home.
There is a ton of useful information in this article. I loved the witty writing style. Keep up the good work and I will check back later for other articles.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This article about house inspection issues is informative and very helpful. Thanks for sharing.