Home Buyers Beware! Read this before you buy in 2024

Today let’s talk about why you shouldn’t buy homes built between 2007-2014…

     I’m Jonathan Tiedman, Local South Carolina Realtor with Century 21 803 and the LexiCo Group and homes built in the early 2000’s to mid 2010’s might be the worst value on the market today. 

     When buying anything it is important to know what we are buying. That’s why so many companies like google and amazon have review pages for products and services offered. But, when it comes to homes there is no such thing. The closest thing we have is a home inspection. It’s our way of having a licensed professional be able to review it for us. As an expert in my field. Unless you have a wealth of knowledge in this particular area, do not ever skip this step as it very well might be the single most important thing you do when purchasing a home. 

     A home inspection is going to be able to give us just a little bit of insight into the concerning areas of the home that we may need to have a specialist look at. I’ve included some samples here for you guys to see how it will appear on some reports.

     I am a huge advocate for home inspections because they can keep us from making poor uninformed decisions on homes.  Buying a home today there are several things that a buyer will need to keep a close eye on. The first one being the roof. In recent months insurance companies have been requiring a higher standard for a roof to pass a clean bill of health. If a home inspector notes any leaks or concerns, reach out to them for better understanding and see if a roof inspection is recommended. 

     Next we will look into our HVAC system. It’s not a bad idea to see if the seller has a service plan with a company that may be transferable to the next buyer. Units that are serviced regularly typically last longer than ones that don’t but remember there is no guarantee that just because it was serviced it will keep ticking. Again,  consult with your inspector for more information and to see if it needs to be looked at further. 

This will remain consistent for the remaining items so to save me some time, consult your home inspector. 

     One that typically gets overlooked is the hot water heater. If there is one thing I can be 100% sure about is that houses and water go about as well together as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Oftentimes when mixing the two it ends up quite violent and really can destroy what was once beautiful. If you want to stay away from nightmares and headaches in your years to come. You will be sure that your hot water heater is in good working condition with the appropriate precautions taken to route any leaks that may arise safely away from your home.

     The last major ticket item on our list today is the foundation. Now this one is a big one as homes, especially here locally tend to settle which may cause slight shifting in the walls and exterior leaving behind small cracks. But these are nothing to right off. If for any reason you have concerns, it’s best to address them during the purchasing process as these things can come with a hefty price tag to repair. 

     All of these things are most prominent in homes built between 2007 and 2014 as the age of the above items tends to start to show and it’s almost if not past time to have these items replaced or tended to. If you are looking for a new home, pay close attention to what issues may arise in the first couple of years that you live there. 

    As always if you feel you could benefit from my expertise you can click ( HERE )  and myself or a member of my team will reach out to you. Alternatively if you are worried that these items might impact you selling your home you can go to that corresponding link as well, in the description.

Written by: Jonathan Tiedman