The arrival of summer has real estate agents feeling as giddy, excited and anticipatory as children on Christmas Eve. Summertime means home buying time and more homes are sold during Southern California’s summer months than at any other time of the year.
The residential real estate market has improved substantially over the last six months and with interest rates remaining low, this summer’s market is shaping up to be even more active than usual. Good News for Realtors, but not so much for Summertime Home buyers.
The pressure to find, purchase, move and settle into a new home before the school year starts has never been easy, but an improving real estate market coupled with low interest rates adds additional stress and increases the intensity of an already pressure packed situation.
This kind of pressure is detrimental for most home buyers and many overlook or ignore obvious signs of distress, red flags and abnormal wear and tear in order to close the deal. Unfortunately, red flags don’t get better with time and what could have been a simple repair can turn into a full blown and costly nightmare because it was overlooked or simply ignored.
In fact, 44% of Summer Home buyers call a professional plumber at least once during the first year of home ownership. The following checklist of indoor and outdoor plumbing, piping, water related fixtures and main sewer lines can help summertime home buyers significantly reduce the potential of unexpected, inconvenient and costly problems.
SUMMERTIME HOME BUYER CHECKLIST
Bathrooms:
- Check around the base of toilets for signs of water damage such as rolled vinyl or white stains
- Check for a soft floor. If the floor feels mushy then it’s probably rotting or weakened
- Flush every toilet to see how fast it does or doesn’t flush
- Look for loose bath tiles where they come in contact with the tub and/or sink. If anything feels soft, wet or mushy there is a high probability of damage under the tile.
- Save money and water by making sure your family puts cotton swabs, cotton balls, hair, facial scrub pads and diapers etc…in a trash can and not in the toilet. Items like this are responsible for most blockages and clogs and they waste water.
Plumbing and Water Supply Lines:
- Run the water in the bathtub and in the kitchen sink. If there’s a noticeable reduction in water volume or pressure then the water lines in the home may need to be replaced due to calcium and mineral deposit buildup which restricts water flow.
- Inspect the main water supply line clean-out valve and make sure it’s accessible.
Water Heaters:
- Every water heater has a serial # and the first four #’s on every water heater’s serial # represent the month and year that it was manufactured. If your water heater is more than 15 years old then you should consider replacing it with a more energy efficient model.
Most Common Overlooked Areas of Concern:
- Garbage Disposals and Dishwasher Connections: Check for tightness and leaks.
- Cabinet Interiors: Check for signs of water damage including warped bottoms or stains.
- Check washing machine hoses for cracks, leaks or ruptures.
Standing Water:
Nothing good ever comes from Standing Water! It might be the result of a leaky of broken pipe or the excess water could be from a damaged sewer line containing waste material from the home. As a general rule, consider all Standing Water to be not healthy for your children or pets and it’s a favorite breeding ground for nasty insects and gross germs.
Slab Leak Detection and Main Line Sewer Video Inspections:
One of the technologies most cost effective, important and innovative contributions to home buyers around the world has been the invention of video camera inspections for water supply lines, slab leak detection and main sewer line protection. The video camera inspections will reveal any flaws with the water supply and/or sewer lines before you buy a home and its well worth the cost to make sure that you won’t be spending a fortune to repair or replace an entire underground water supply or sewer system within months of buying your new home.
