Buying a New Home? Always Check Out the Following Features to Prevent Unexpected Problems

Are you looking for a new home in the Bloomington, MN area? If so, you've got some exciting times coming up, including the house search, the big purchase, and everybody’s favorite, moving day!

To make the process easier and to avoid unexpected problems down the road, there are some things you should be on the lookout for as you see homes, and things that you should be testing in each place you visit, and today we’ll tell you all about it.

Find a Home That’s Well-Insulated

Heating and cooling a home are two of the largest expenses you'll face as a homeowner (aside from the mortgage payments), so it only makes sense to buy a house that has proper insulation to keep those costs down.

Insulation keeps your house cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and it means you have to spend less keeping it comfortable in any season.

In fact, an uninsulated wall can allow nearly half of the heat in the house to escape, and proper insulation can reduce this by at least 80 percent. A well-insulated home is an energy-efficient home, meaning you'll save energy, money, and the environment by prioritizing this criterion during your house search.

Insulation note: Insulation can also be placed between interior walls, between floors, and in attics and crawl spaces, and the more insulation there is, the quieter and more comfortable your home will be.

Invest in a Home Inspection

There are so many reasons to get a home inspection done before buying a property and only one reason not to: money.

But when you look at the facts, the money you'll save forgoing the home inspection could be lost—plus much more—on repairs, you end up having to do down the road.

The home inspection can reveal any number of problems with a home, from foundational problems to structural issues to electrical dangers to problems with the grading to mold in the basement, and much more.

Check All the Switches for Functionality

Nobody likes walking into a dark room, flipping the switch, and finding yourself still in darkness. The same holds true for turning on the furnace only to have nothing happen, or finding out in the middle of a heatwave that the air conditioner is broken. These are all things you should test when you see a prospective home. Be sure to check:

1. The lights in every room.

2. Ceiling fans

3. Exhaust fans and vents.

4. The furnace.

5. The air conditioner.

6. That the lighting is sufficient to be safe when you're traveling hallways or moving from one place to another at night.

Buying a new house is one of the most exciting times in any person’s life, and the last thing you want is to purchase what you think is your dream house only to find that the place has major problems or needs hardcore TLC.

Looking for a well-insulated home, hiring a home inspector, and testing the lights and HVAC system will help ensure you aren't blindsided by problems after the purchase and make sure that your dream house brings you nothing but warmth, comfort, and happiness for many years.