I've been through a couple of homes in the last 8 years. The first was a "newer" home. Except some of these newer cookie cutter homes have issues if they're not built right. The house isn't really settled, the joists in the basement ceiling were already starting to bend...after 2 years, when I went up into the attic they didn't put vent soffits between every joist, the kitchen was made very cheaply and we found air leaks everywhere when we did an energy audit. We paid good money for that house too. It was just very disheartening. The good thing about the house was the foundation was done fairly well and the floor in the basement wasn't cracking barely at all after 8 years after being built.
Our second house that we live in now was built by a really good builder 26 years ago. Everyone I asked said "oh that guy builds a solid house". There's a couple creaks in the floors but nothing major and nothing loud. The basement floor after 26 years is barely cracked although it's not really level so I'll need to deal with that. There are vent soffits between every joist. There's no leaks in the basement that I've ever seen in the last 2 springs we've had. The house is well kept. When I got an energy audit the house barely had any leaks at all. The only real issues I have with the house are things like cement cracking in the garage and driveway (which is normal after 26 years). The windows are old and use to ice up, but we had a new furnace/AC/HRV put in and they didn't ice up once this winter (although the seals are broken so it fogs up a bit in the summer). The house isn't even really set up for an HRV as it just has some cold air returns, but it still worked really well. The two boys rooms are over the garage and don't get good heat pumping through to their rooms, but that can be easily fixed with a vent fan. The attic needs a bit more insulation. The house only has 3 small south facing windows. And there are some minor electrical and plumbing issues but nothing major. We really love the new house.
So things to look out for:
- Don't always go for new...but if it is new make sure it's not built cheap unless it's easy to replace or it's something you can live with until you can replace it.
- Look for a solid foundation. I would look for a home that is at least 10 years old who's foundation has been tested and the basement floor doesn't have many cracks in it. Or if there are cracks that they're not more then a millimeter in width.
- Check the floors on the other levels. Make sure you don't hear a lot of creaking or that there are no dips in the floor. Jump up and down in each room if you have to. I did that.
- Check the basement ceiling and look at the joists and make sure they're not bending and that they're no more then 16 inches apart. If the ceiling in the basement is finished, find the utility closet...people don't usually finish the ceiling in there.
- If the basement is unfinished...look around, see how things are built. If the basement isn't built well...chances are the rest of the house isn't either.
- Check the walls outside the house. Especially the lower walls connecting to the ground.
- Keep an eye on things you have to repair or replace. Bring a notepad with you and jot things down as you're going through each house.
- Check all the faucets in the house for leaks. Check under the sinks to make sure there are shut off valves. The first house I bought, they never put shut off valves under our bathroom sinks...it was stupid.
- Check the years of the HVAC and HRV (if there is one) as well as the water heater. You don't want to overspend on a house and find out you have to replace it all.
- If it comes with the appliances, do a check on the appliances, some people flip a house and put in some cheap appliances into it and you think you're getting a deal when you're not.
- Make sure it has enough electrical. I believe the norm today is 200 - 240V? The old was 120V which is barely high enough for today's standards.
- Established trees in the yard are a good thing. They will block the wind and shade you in the summer. Just watch out for really old trees, especially if they're near the home. You may have to deal with cutting them down.
- Just mostly keep your eyes pealed. Look for anything and everything. Keep notes. And make sure your furniture will fit.
