This is a short (and very true) story:

I am with my new seller. We are visiting my home, where I look for defects and ask questions. After entering the basement storage room where the various components of the house (HVAC, electrical, radon system, etc.) are located, I immediately asked my seller how hot their hot water temperature was. They came back, "Wait...what is a water heater?" I pointed. "That." To make it even more confusing, I had to explain what it was and what it did. I went on to say that they can only be used for about 10 to 12 years-maybe 15 years with a water softener.

The flashlight phone came out, and I went to work to try to find the date of manufacture. I rarely feel shocked and frightened at the same time in this industry these days, but it can happen. It must happen on this sunny Thursday morning. The label says "1992". Now, I am not an expert in mathematics, but when I installed this thing I was in seventh grade, and it has exceeded the recommended replacement date by approximately 18 years. For those of you who got lost while reading this article, let me clarify the problem.

 The water heater is a large tank filled with water, you guessed it; your hot water. When it fails, it usually does not simply not heat the water, but leaks to the entire basement. This is a problem for any basement, but it is especially true for finished basements. Not only will it leak the contents of the water tank-it will continue to leak until the water source is shut down. There are a few people who have horror stories about going home from get off work to the basement 2-3 feet.

Now, my point is not to make fun of this particular customer, but to point out that you must be aware of and vigilant about the various components and aspects of the house, which can cause devastating repair costs and unnecessary in the event of failure. Trouble. Please refer to the list below for the main issues I encountered:

Loft space: Homeowners often tell me that they have not lived in an attic for many years. They didn't discover the problem until they sold the house and conducted a house inspection. Slightly leaking roof or mould or both. Usually mold is formed by roofs that are leaking or poorly ventilated. Older building codes do not require ridge vents or ventilated soffits, so if your roof is on the older side, it may be worth taking out the flashlight and checking it out once a year to make sure everything is in order.

Water heater: There is almost no way to know when a water heater will fail, so it is best to be proactive and replace it every 10-12 years, depending on the hardness of your water. I find that the people who are most complacent about this are those who buy new buildings. Since everything is new when they buy, the psychology is that things will stay that way.

Crawling spaces: Just like roofs, they are areas that homeowners don’t often visit. For the same reasons, mold can form here as easily as an attic space: water seepage and/or poor ventilation. Again, grab the flashlight and enter there.

Under the sink: Americans like their things, and they like to stuff them wherever possible, including under the sinks in the kitchen and bathroom. I assume that you will not periodically empty these areas and inspect them, but even small drops of water can cause some very expensive damage. Water destroys everything.

Trees: Most real estate agents will not mention this to their buyers, but if you have trees, don’t forget to look up. Various invasive insects (Jade borer, spotted lantern fly, etc.) and diseases will greatly affect their health. A little-known fact is that if a tree falls on your house, your homeowner’s insurance will cover it, but if it falls on your yard or your driveway, the cost of cleaning will be taken from you Took it out of his pocket. A certified arborist can usually provide you with some guidance here.

If all this is intimidating for you, you can always choose to conduct a house inspection even if you do not intend to move. Like most inspections, they are as valuable as gold because they almost always find something.