Homeowners Are Sharing The 24 Problem Areas That Go Unnoticed In Most Home Tours, And They're Crucial

Buying a home is hard enough as it is, but on top of all the expected hurdles that come along with it, new homebuyers often have to deal with unforeseen hardships like leaks, flooding, asbestos, or something worse .

Lucky for us, first-time homebuyer u/intoxicatingBlackAle recently asked homeowners on the popular r/homeowners subreddit what frequently overlooked things they recommend checking before one buys a house. Here are some of their most useful answers:

1. "Natural light. My home in the woods was so great when I looked at it in the summer, but in the winter, it got very dark, especially with the popcorn ceilings (where the texture leaves tiny shadows all over the ceiling) and lack of overhead lighting in the main living space."

2. "Be wary of a freshly painted basement or a freshly finished basement."

— u/Calm-Ad8987

"It hides water stains from water damage."

— u/argent_pixel

3. "Is it in a flood zone? Are all modifications permitted and inspected? How old is the roof and does it have two layers on it? Are there easements on the property? Was a survey done recently? How old is the sewer or septic system?"

4. "Street noise, neighborhood noise, neighbors. Visit a place at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. It will be different then than at 2 p.m. when you’re visiting the house."

5. "Closets. We fell in love with our first house and completely forgot to look at closet space. It had the tiniest pantry and no coat closet."

6. "As beautiful as a big tree in the front yard is, roots are a huge factor in having to replace your sewer main which can be $10-20k+."

7. "Living in the northeast, I’d check to see if the property is considered 'historic' or on a historical registry. If it is, the county/state can prevent you from making changes to the property in many cases."

8. "My two cents is outlets. I saw it in a TV show or movie once; dude didn’t wanna buy a house because there weren’t enough outlets, and there turns out to be some merit behind that!"

9. "It's mind-boggling how many people are buying extremely outdated or 'in need of repair' houses in this market and have no grasp of how expensive some work is, especially when they don't know how to do the work themselves."

Paramount Pictures / Via giphy.com

"I see it all the time: people buying houses over asking value, skipping on inspections just to get the place, and then [going] into shock when they realize they're going to need $50k, $100k, $150k+ to get the house to a point where they want it.

This market is in favor of people who have never maintained their houses or haven't renovated in decades because they're making a killing on the inflated prices."

— u/jakgal04

10. "DO NOT BUY A HOME WITHOUT getting a home inspection. Add on radon and mold testing. It's better to pay a couple of hundred dollars upfront rather than thousands later on."

11. "You really have to make a list of all the little mundane things that matter because when a house is staged very effectively, it can cause you to see everything with rose-colored glasses."

12. "Is there an HOA? What does it cost? What does it do for you? Do they have a history of being predatory, charging fines because your grass is more than four inches long or they saw a weed in your yard?"

13. "The direction the house faces. In cold climates in the U.S. (and probably the northern hemisphere in general), if your house faces north you will have to deal with ice throughout the winter because it doesn’t get enough sun to melt."

14. "I wish that we had visited the house during a rain storm to see how/where the water flows."

15. "As a new home buyer I was told by my dad and my real estate agent that older homes are a bit of a headache. I didn’t really care or take it into consideration because of the charm they have."

16. "Open and close ALL the windows."

— u/Battleaxe1959

17. "Do NOT buy a flipped home. Avoid them at all costs!"

18. "The direction of natural light. I found my mood got way better when I moved to a house where the bedroom is on the west side, and the living room is southeast facing. Not waking up with the sun glaring in through cracks in the curtains and not spending my whole day sitting in darkness was worth extra money to me."

19. "Barely anyone ever goes up into the attic. A lot of people don't even at least pop a head up for a peek."

20. "The neighbors."

21. "Does the house have good cellphone coverage? Call a friend and walk through all the rooms and the basement, too."

22. "Hire two independent home inspectors who don’t know each other. If the home has a well, have the water tested (from multiple sinks) by two different companies. And ask where the dryer vents are and when the vent was cleaned last."

23. "If a toilet is on an exterior wall and you are in a cold climate, go to the next house. It's likely to freeze when the temps plummet for several days."

24. And a final piece of advice: "No matter how hard you look, you'll find things after you move in and wonder how you didn't notice them."

If you have any thoughts or if anything pressing is missing from this list, feel free to let us know in the comments down below — especially if you're a homeowner, home inspector, or other home professional. Or, you can write in anonymously via this Google form . Who knows — your answer may be included in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post!

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.