Look hardest at the things you cannot change and the things that are expensive to fix: location, the roof, the foundation, the cooling and heating, the plumbing and the electrical panel; kitchens and paint are the cheapest things on the list and the ones that get all the attention.
A viewing is short and the house is designed to be liked. The way to spend it well is to decide in advance what you are looking at, because the staging is working on the rest.
What cannot be changed
The location, the lot, the orientation, the noise, and the floor plan's bones. Everything on that list you either accept or do not buy, and no budget fixes them. Visit at a different time of day and on a different day of the week before deciding you know what a street is like.
What is expensive to change
These are what the inspection is for, and what a price negotiation is usually really about.
- Roof: its age, and whether there is any staining on ceilings below it.
- Foundation and structure: cracks wider than a coin's thickness, doors that will not latch, floors that slope.
- Cooling and heating: the age of the units, on the plate. In a hot climate a failing air conditioner is a summer emergency and a five-figure one.
- Plumbing: water pressure at the furthest tap, staining under sinks, the water heater's age.
- Electrical: the panel's capacity and brand, and whether the work in the house looks done or improvised.
- Water: where it goes when it rains. Grading toward the house, and any evidence in the lowest part of it.
What the paperwork tells you that the house does not
The county record: what it sold for and when, its square footage as recorded, permits taken out and permits conspicuously not taken out for work that has plainly been done.
The seller's disclosure, read against the inspection report, because the interesting part is any place the two do not agree. And where there is an association, the resale package: the dues, the rules, the reserve fund and any special assessment already voted on.
What the numbers tell you about the seller
How long it has been for sale, and whether the price has already been cut. A house that has sat while similar ones sold is telling you something, and it is usually price. A house that has cut once has a seller who has already accepted that the first number was wrong, which is a different negotiation from one that has not.
Questions people ask
What are red flags when buying a house?
Fresh paint in one small area of a ceiling or a basement, doors that will not close, a smell of damp, recent work with no permit on the county record, and a seller unwilling to allow a normal inspection period.
What should you not overlook when buying a house?
The roof, the cooling and heating, the electrical panel and where water goes when it rains. They are the least interesting things in the house and the four most likely to cost five figures.
How many times should you view a house before buying?
At least twice, and the second time at a different hour so you hear the street differently. Bring the listing photos to compare against what you are actually standing in.