6 grave mistakes to avoid when buying your home

A creak in the floor. A zombie-like scent wafting through the room. A tiny squeak you thought you heard. It’s all too easy to ignore when you’re under the spell of a stunning new home but beware: avoiding these issues during a home inspection could turn your dream home into a house of horrors. You’re not alone: research conducted by ME revealed that over half of Australian house hunters spend the same amount of time inspecting a property as they do watching an episode of their favourite series.

We’re here to creep it real and share the top six common mistakes that can haunt homebuyers during the process, plus tricks and treats that could save you from living in full fright mode. 

1.     Ignoring the warnings on the wall

Spidery cracks in the wall. A ghost of a bad paint job. They’re all telltale signs that are hard to miss and shouldn’t be overlooked when inspecting your new home. The reasons for peeling paint can range from improper prep to excess moisture, and it can be a bloody nightmare to fix. 

Trick: inspect the space in natural daylight to make sure you get a closer and clearer look of the paintwork to avoid any horrifying surprises. 

2.     Not checking the skeletons

(The skeletons being the structure of the home of course…but also maybe check for actual skeletons?) This is true for both older homes and newer builds. Most people tend to assume new construction builds have fewer problems compared to a 1940s California bungalow, but new homes can come with structural defects, gaps, cracks, construction faults and drainage issues.

Treat: To prevent a future that’s filled with frightening hidden costs, get a professional home inspection done to ensure the bones of your home are structurally sound. 

3.     Making a moulderer

Imagine it’s been several months after moving into your new home, and you notice a mildew smell coming from your master bathroom. You hire a mould removal specialist to investigate the situation and he quickly points out the poor craftsmanship of your home, the new paint which masked the previous mould and the lack of ventilation in the bathrooms. It has made it the perfect environment for mould to grow, which explains why you might struggle with allergies since moving in. 

You end up having to spend a hefty sum fixing the problem and installing ventilation fans. When the final bill comes through, it is as if you have been visited by the ghost of savings’ past.

4.     Board to death

So you’ve fallen in love with a ‘they-just-don’t-build-them-like-this-anymore’ older home. It’s gorgeous, spacious and has obviously stood the test of time. But behind the mask there’s a sinister past.

You step into its historic interiors and *creak* goes the floor. Your mind tells you it’s normal for a stunner of this. Creaking, uneven floorboards, cracks in the tiles or curling on hardwood floors could give you clues into the general condition of the property.

Trick: Hire a professional instead and let them solve the mystery for you.  Be sure to look under the rugs for rotting floorboards just in case!

5.     Offence-ive behaviour

Some buyers will avoid the cost of repairing a fence before they sell it. The results can be anything from a rotten carcass of a fence, monstrous termites, or Cujo running loose from your home. And not just that, dividing fences between neighbours are a common cause of bloodshed.

Trick: borrow an extra set of eyes – preferably with a human attached – to really get a good look at the fencing. Building reports can also help – or a Ouija board if you want the whole 100 year history. And of course, pick the brain of your agent if you have one.

6.     Unwelcome guests

We’re not talking ghosts, zombies or worse, that one relative that always just ‘pops in’. We’re talking pesky pests and critters. When inspecting a property, keep an eye out for random droppings, nests, suspicious scampering in the ceiling or any holes and bites that have been carved in the walls of your perfect pumpkin.

Trick: There’s really no trick around this but to get a professional pest inspection before buying.

Avoid the sequel

Before you boo-gie into your new home, make sure the property is properly inspected and in a good condition before settlement.

Treat: “Spend more time inspecting the prospective property with several return visits at different times of the day. See lots of properties so you can compare and contrast, give weight to any niggling hunches that give you cause for concern, and get a professional property inspector to do the checking for you.,” said ME’s General Manager of Retail Banking, John Powell.