One of the benefits of buying a newer home built in the past 20 years is avoiding age-related issues with older construction. You will not find asbestos in your walls if you purchase a home built after the 70s. You won’t find knob and tube electrical wiring in that 2018 house. However, newer homes often have issues caused by builders cutting corners, and if you were thinking that a new home would not require a Houston real estate inspection, here are some of the issues we have encountered just with residential sewage lines.
That New Home Might Use Old Pipes
You would think that a new home would use all-new materials, but it is cheaper for builders to just tie into the existing sewer line. Depending on the neighborhood, your home might have existing clay or concrete sewage lines connected to the city sewer system. Those types of pipes run into all sorts of issues after a few decades, and even if they are working well enough at the moment, expect to replace them within 5 to 10 years with a bill running into the thousands. A Houston real estate inspection will identify older pipes so that you can negotiate with the seller to either replace the pipes or lower the price down.
Good Pipes Badly Installed
On a recent Houston residential inspection, we found a sewer line that actually sloped up from the house. The last time we checked, gravity pulled materials down, and even though the toilets and sinks drained properly, we knew that it was only a matter of time before they backed up. At another house, we found a brand new ABS pipe that ended just a few feet from the foundation. Anyone staying in that house would get about three toilet flushes before the whole system backed up.
The Ugly Side of Foreclosed Properties
Foreclosures are not quite as lucrative as they were a decade ago, but the foreclosure market is still popular with investors. If you purchase one of these properties, you will definitely want to invest in a Houston thermal imaging inspection to find any surprises the previous owners left behind. Whether it is concrete poured down the toilet or dozens of ping pong balls, we have seen it all. Some of these problems can be fixed with a plumbing snake, but others require significant repiping. That is not to say that a foreclosed property with plumbing issues is not a good buy, but you will definitely want to know what kind of renovation you have ahead of you before you purchase the property.
Want to found out about other ways a Houston real estate inspection can save you a headache down the road? Call American Dream Inspections at 832-566-0973 today.
