If you are thinking about buying a private house, first of all, you must analyze your needs: do you need to go to work every day or do you have the opportunity to work at least a couple of days a week remotely, which educational institutions do your children go to.
Do not forget about your plans for the future and remember how you and your loved ones would like to replenish the energy spent in worries and deeds: in the thick of people and bustle or in front of a burning fireplace away from the city noise. Make a table for each family member, write down who and what suits best, and only then make a decision. If you decide that a private house is exactly what you need and have found suitable options, get ready to browse the houses you like. Special attention should be paid to three important aspects: territorial, technical and legal.
Assessing the location
Write down all the places you need to travel more than once a week: work, school. Check how long it takes to get to them by private and public transport, especially during rush hours.
Find out who your closest potential neighbors are – getting to know them will help you to learn a lot of interesting things about the house itself, its past owners and life in the area where this house is located before buying.
We check the technical condition of the house
When checking the technical condition of the house and assessing the quality of construction, carefully inspect and record the nuances, ask questions, take pictures and write down all the flaws and defects.
Roof condition. Conclusions about the condition of the roof can be drawn from the attic. If you see stains from smudges, mold or mildew, then the roof is leaking and repairs will require a significant investment.
Exterior walls. Cracks on the outer walls of the house can indicate serious defects and further consequences, for example, improper shrinkage of the house. Even if there are no obvious cracks, they can be hidden behind a layer of fresh plaster.
Slabs and floors. The ceiling of the lower floor will tell you about the quality of the floors. If it flexes, it’s bad. In the future, the situation will worsen, and replacing floors will be troublesome and expensive. The floor must be level. You can check this by taking the building level with you for inspection.
Foundation and basement. It is not so easy to independently assess the quality of the foundation. But it is on him that the strength and reliability of the whole house depends. An indirect sign of a high-quality foundation can be the absence of cracks on the walls of the house. Only specialists can give you a more accurate assessment. Inspect the basement – if you notice traces of flooding, most likely the foundation construction technology has been violated. In this case, there will be a constant smell of dampness and mold in the house, and in the future you can wait for the complete destruction of the foundation.
Water supply. Check the pipes for leaks or rust and find out where the water comes from. If from a well or borehole, take some water for examination. If the water turns out to be of poor quality, get ready to spend money on a purification system.
Sewerage. Draw up a large volume of water, drain it and watch how quickly it goes away. Also, inspect the pipes – they should be free of leaks, streaks and condensation.
Heating system. It is best to test the heating in cold weather. But even if the inspection of the house fell on a warm day, ask to turn on the heating boiler and after half an hour check the temperature in the radiators in all rooms of the house. Examine the boiler itself – there should be no traces of rust on us, next to it – smudges and puddles.
Electrical system. If there are household appliances in the house at the time of the inspection, ask to turn on all appliances at the same time. It is important that the network can handle the load without interruption.
Ventilation. Check the vents and make sure they are not clogged.
To check the options you like, it is better to come back with a technical specialist for a thorough examination. It will be cheaper than subsequent renovations or selling an uninhabitable home.
Also, a specialist can detect non-obvious defects, pointing out which to the seller, you can save money when buying.
