Defects That Are Often Overlooked

A Sample of Often Overlooked Questions:

1) Is This Property in a High-Crime Area?
I served jury duty with a gentleman who has had his home broken into and burglarized so many times that he has lost count. He also happens to be in one of the wealthiest communities in that city. Dont be fooled into believing that high property values will protect you from crime.

2) Is This Property In the Glide Path (ILS Approach) of an Airport?
Yours truly got caught by this one. I wanted a quiet place to live. What I got: a home located in the glide path of a small municipal airport, which is also one of the busiest airports in town. Why didn’t I notice planes you say? It’s got something to do with prevailing wind patterns. The two times I visited the property, the wind was blowing in such a direction that the planes were coming in on another approach. When the wind changed direction, they came in tail to nose all night long. Try to sleep through that.

3) Is This Property Near a Landfill? a Water Treatment Plant?
A close relative of mine once rented property within smelling distance of a sewage treatment plant. When the wind blew her direction, the smell was atrocious. She didn’t stay there long, but the owner was stuck with a hard-to-rent property. Do you think he will tell you about the sewer plant when you come to look at his property?

4) Is This Property Located in a Flood Zone?
Under Federal Fannie Mae lending guidelines, this information is required to be in an appraisal. However, nobody is going to dissuade you from buying the property or renting it. Flood insurance costs money, and only when your irreplaceable personal belongings are destroyed will you fully understand that living in a floodzone is not such a good idea.

5) Is this Property Located Near Horse Stables, or Down Wind From a Pig Farm?
Don't Laugh -- It happens more often than you think.

6) Who is going to pay to Upgrade this Property to City Sewer?
In Urban Planning 101, my professor told the story of a community in Texas which was assessed by the local government for almost $10k per household to be connected. Some cities have a budget for this sort of thing. If you buy a house in one of these failing septic tank areas however, you will likely get the bill. Also, you don’t want to rent a house that has questionable water and sewer service (yuk!).

7) Is This House Non-Conforming According to the Zoning Code?
If so and your house is destroyed more than 50% by fire, flood or whatever, you wont be able to rebuild your house. Most lenders will not provide you financing if this comes up in your appraisal report, but please don’t rely on that ok?

8) Is a Local Government Agency Planning a Highway Through My Backyard?
A new interstate highway is currently being planned through a large city in Florida. Although the property owners in the area probably know about it, do you think they'll tell you when you come to buy their house?

9) How long have you known this person who is trying to sell or lease you this home?
You know why I am asking this. Why do we trust people that we’ve never met before? Why don’t we ever think of these things?

10) Is this Property Located Near a Low-Income Rental?
You don’t want to end up living next to a house managed by absentee landlords that don’t do anything but collect HUD checks from the government and don’t care about their tenants (or prospective neighbors like you).