Hellobee Boards

any types of cracks in the walls or foundation.

water damage on ceiling and basement

The biggest thing to me is picking a house that has a flow/lay out that will be convenient for your daily life. For me things that were deal breakers were things that would bother me every day (if the kitchen wasn't open to the living room so I couldn't keep an eye on my daughter while I cook, if laundry was in the basement and I would need to haul clothes up and down two flights on stairs, etc). Most other things in a house can be lived with/dealt with in the future. It's the inspection where you really want to be picky about what you'll accept and what you won't.

Make sure you don't have a wasp nest in the chimney

But really, any of this structural stuff would come up in the home inspection. So you'd be able to back out they came up then.

We went with the most detailed home inspection (they had 3 levels to choose from) and since our house was built in the 1980s we wanted to know all the nuances that needed to be addressed. The inspector caught some issues with siding/rot but not all of them. You may also want to go in the attic and crawl space to see the bones of the house are like - framing, electric, insulation. etc. Check the woodwork on the windows and porch/deck and see if there is anything that may need repairs with that. We also have a crack in our toilet that is more complicated than just replacing the toilet.

Look at landscaping in backyard. Was the soil and patio graded away from the house to shed rainwater? Is there a French drain system installed? You don't want a bog in the backyard because the water sits and doesn't drain and French drains are expensive to have installed. Sprinklers? Any high maintenance plants or trees? Arborists are expensive!

Look at the baseboards behind all the toilets, the walls behind the washer, and along the tubs for signs of water leakage.

Look for which way the house faces to determine the light at what time of day and how light/hot it might make your master bedroom.

Go by the house at different times of day and even at night. Scope out if it's noisy, traffic sounds, etc.

Look at the floor around the water heater for signs of leaks - it may just be an issue with the pipe connecting the water heater but you want it fixed.

If it's a two story house I would want dual zone heating and cooling and an upstairs laundry room.

Definitely check for noise leakage - we did the scream test all the time.

Check under all sinks for signs of leaks.

Check any fencing - it's a pain to replace in conjunction with neighbors and expensive.