3 Red Flags All Buyers Need to Know When Going to Home Showings

Buying a new home is a huge investment. No buyer wants to agree to buy a home only to discover later that it has problems unnoticed in the first inspection. These problem homes often have red flags that most home buyers don’t realize are warning signs. Missing them can be a costly mistake to tune of thousands of dollars. Be aware of these different red flags when making appointments for and going to home showings.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Too Good To Be True Prices

One of the most important red flags to remember when buying a new home is to be wary of extremely low prices. While this may seem like a great deal initially, low prices can be a sign that something is wrong with the home. After all, why would the homeowner take such a cut to their profits if the home was fine as-is? Unusually low prices are common among fixer-upper homes. When a home is marketed as a fixer-upper, the buyer goes into it knowing it needs a lot of work to get it to their ideal or even a livable state. The difference between these two cases is that the buyer knows why the home is priced the way it is.

Everyone Is Leaving at Once

It’s normal for a large neighborhood to have multiple listings simultaneously, especially during the most popular selling times or if it’sa new neighborhood under development. However, home buyers should be able to tell when the number of listings becomes abnormal. If many people are all leaving the neighborhood at once, it can be a sign that something is driving everyone to leave.

For example, if the city has announced a new motorway or busy shopping center close to the neighborhood, all the extra noise would be a big factor in making people want to move. Buyers should ask their real estate agents to look into future construction projects in the neighborhood area if it feels like many people are simultaneously exiting.

The Home Has Signs of Insects

When a buyer goes to a home showing, they should always look for signs of an insect infestation. Infestations can be notoriously difficult to get rid of once they’ve established themselves in a home, and they’re also extremely expensive to deal with. Infestations will have signs that a buyer can look for, including:

• Shed skins
• Broken egg shells
• Bad odors
• Fecal matter
• Noises, such as crickets chirping
• Wood dust in corners, under eaves, along windows, or outside the home along the foundation.
• Rotting or wet wood under eaves, window sills, wooden decks, patios, or siding.

Buyers should also look for the insects and not just what they leave behind. With insects like cockroaches, seeing a few in the home can be a sign of a much larger problem that can’t be seen as easily because cockroaches make their nests in walls and other locations that people don’t easily access.

Common insect infestations to look for if you’re buying a home in the South or a wet environment:

• Cockroaches or palmetto bugs
• Termites
• Ants
• Bedbugs
• Bees/hornets

Buying a new home is an exciting time, but if home buyers aren’t careful, they can end up buying a home with many problems. Keep these home buying red flags and warning signs in mind to avoid problem homes. Ensure your money is well spent!

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Updated January 2024