Buying House Checking

You should be very cautious before pledging to buy a house. On condition that the house has wood and brick on the exterior, you need to consider the following issues.

Wood Issues

Wood is an attractive material, especially when it is used on the outside of a home. Compared to stucco and other materials, it is a surprise wood isn’t used more often. The reason, obviously is wood basically doesn’t hold up as well as man-made materials. If you are searching for a home with a heavy emphasis on the outside wood siding, trim and so on, here are several things to watch out for when assessing the opportunity.

1. The first thing to realize is the appearance of wood has almost no relevance to the condition. A perfectly good looking piece of wood trim may be infested with termites or rotting and you will never know by just glancing at it. When examining wood exteriors, by no means trust your eyes.

2. One of the major issues with wood is degradation. When looking at specific areas, be completely sure you physically touch the wood. In fact, you are perhaps better off giving it a fairly good poke with a finger. In doing so, you should be looking for soft areas. Soft areas are indicative of rot in one form or another. Discovering rot in one part should worry about finding rot all through the structure. In other words, you should start looking at other homes on your list.

3. Finding soft spots in wood can be disturbing, but there is something worse. If you poke or squeeze a piece of wood and dust or bits fall off, run for the care. This type of degradation is often a sign of termite problems. Termite problems should be a huge red flag for any prospective home. If you buy the house, you are going to have to tent it to kill the bugs and pay to inspect and repair the damage done by the evil little bugs. In short, you are buying a minor, but expensive, a nightmare.

Don’t Slip up, wood can be very eye-catching on the outside of a home. Just be sure you don’t depend on only on a visual inspection of it when deciding on the qualities of the house.