Caveat Emptor - Pay attention to details when you are looking at homes!

The Latin term Caveat Emptor literally means "Let the buyer beware". Under the doctrine of caveat emptor, defects rendering the property "unfit for ordinary purposes" would be unrecoverable from the seller, with just one exception- That is, if the seller knowingly and actively concealed latent defects or otherwise made material misrepresentations tantamount  to fraud.

There are a lot of things to look for, both good and bad, overt and hidden, when you are looking at homes. There are some things about the home that you buy that  you may never find out until you actually own it.

Some of the more obvious things to look for:

Do you like the layout?
Is there enough storage space?
Is there enough room for your needs right now, and what you think you might need in the future?
Do you think that the house will look and feel  as appealing to you during different times of the year?

*Does anything need to be repaired or replaced?
*Are the mechanical systems in good order?
*Do the appliances work?*

*Asterisked items may signal a bigger problem, having to due with normal maintenance that really should be a given. If the homeowner hasn't fixed or maintained major components of the house, what else has been neglected?

When I initially show a house, I do a mini-building inspection. No, I am not a building inspector, and I do not profess to have that kind of extensive knowledge, BUT there are a few things that I can do as your agent that will most certainly help you make an informed decision as to how far you want to go with a particular house.

Some of these little tests I perform on homes as I am showing them:

• If there are area rugs, I pick them up to see if the seller is hiding any unsightly cracks or defects in the floor. Sellers may not necessarily be concealing it just to defraud you- they may just not want to look at them on a daily basis. It may sound dumb, but how would you feel if  you spotted it for the first time on the day you did the final walk-through on the house?

• Open and close all of the interior doors to make sure that they work properly. If there are one or two that don't shut, no biggie- but all throughout the house signals a BIG problem. Wouldn't you like to know this right away? -Before you put in an offer, or pay for a building inspection?

• Try and wiggle whatever railings there are- front porch, upstairs, and down to the basement. Again these sellers are aware of the frailty of the railings, but tend to forget about it, and live with it. It's just something that you should know that will need repair.

• Check the bathroom for loose tiles, and water seepage around the toilet, tub and tile. Again, I do not ever take the place  of a building inspector- if I find something of concern, I will let you know and if you like the home enough to place an offer on it, when it comes time for the building inspection, you can tell the inspector to look at that area more closely.

• The roof- since roofs generally last about 20 years and you can only put on two layers of roofing before  it needs to be stripped down to the wood , pay attention to when the house was built-  as of right now, if you are looking at a house that was built from 1985-1990, and it is NOT obvious that there is a new roof on it,  expect a new roof to be an expense in a few years. If the home was built anytime in the 60's-70's, and there is not a new roof on it, know that when you need to replace the roof that you will most likely have to strip down two layers of roofing on the house already, and the cost will be more than usual. This is not a hard and fast rule of thumb, it depends a lot on the location, the amount of sun or shade, and the quality of the roofing materials.  

Those are just a  few of the very many things that I look for when I am showing properties to buyers.

There are a lot of tips that I reserve for my clients ONLY, and when you become one, you'll get that benefit. When you are ready to buy a home, just contact me, and I look forward to hearing from you!

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