When house hunting, look for what is missing as you scan the yard, the house’s exterior, and the interior. 

If you see a driveway, you may notice that it has cracks.  If you see an air conditioner condenser unit, you may spot some rust and register it as older. There are many items you come across when house hunting in Silicon Valley that you may find to be in good or poor condition.

A little tougher is to notice what’s not there at all.

Look for what is missing – they may be hidden costs to you later

A good Realtor who’s got plenty of experience will help you find the “hidden costs” in what’s missing in a property.  Many such items may appear in a property inspection report, but wouldn’t it be nice to learn about them while viewing the property, and not while slogging through hundreds of pages?

Backing up, then, ideally you’ll get up to speed by learning, or having your real estate agent, point out to you the un-obvious.  Here are a few things to consider:

• If there are 3 steps or more, there should be a handrail
• A water heater in a garage is required to be on a raised platform
• If a bathroom or kitchen is remodeled, there ought to be outlets which are GFCI protected every few feet (telltale sign of remodeling without permits is the lack of outlets)
• A chimney stack should have a spark arrestor and a rain cap
• If the kitchen has a dishwasher, it ought to include an air gap
• Bedroom windows are supposed to be large and low enough for ingress and egress in case of an emergency
• A roof should have gutters and downspouts (some won’t)
• Most homes will provide an attic for insulation and comfort, but some won’t have this type of construction
• Attic access should be accessible, but sometimes is placed in a difficult location within a closet
• Pools are required to have safety features to prevent drowning, but many do not
• Many homes staged to sell have had all window coverings removed, and maybe also the window screens removed.  This makes the living areas sunnier and more appealing, but it also means the new owner will spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to get curtains, blinds, shades, or other window coverings up for needed privacy and maybe screens, also
• If there’s a lawn, you’ll expect automatic sprinklers
• If it is a very cold, frosty morning, the roof ought to also have frost! If that is missing, the heat from the home is escaping and warming up the roof to melt it – and insulation needs to be added or improved.

When you begin to house hunt, you will find that every home has some flaws and any home purchase will involve compromises. Do work with a real estate sales person who can and will educate you every step of the way – there are nuances at every turn.

Some real estate agents will not want to muddy the water by pointing out relatively small items that aren’t quite right.  But learning what they are upfront will help protect you from hidden costs later – so ask to be taught.

While you look for what is missing, It might be a good idea to bring a notebook and jot things down to check on, such as the spark arrestor and rain cap on the top of the chimney, gutters and downspouts (are they extended away from the house?), handrails on stairs, fans and windows in bathrooms, and many more items that you’ll want to have if you purchase the home.

Related articles to “Look for what is missing”

Water heater bracing requirements in Los Gatos (on LiveInLosGatosBlog.com)

What is a cripple wall? (on popehandy.com)

Homeowners insurance (on popehandy.com)

Beware low HOA reserve accounts (on Move2SiliconValley.com)

Make your home look occupied (on LiveInLosGatosBlog.com)