You can’t think of everything when buying a home. Not even the savviest home buyer will catch every little detail. But while you won’t necessarily catch every possible problem or future hiccup a house may have, you also can’t buy a house without giving some consideration to its potential future pitfalls and maintenance costs. If you’re buying an older home with older mechanical systems, for example, you need to take that into account. If you don’t, you might regret it. One recent survey has the evidence. According to the survey of homeowners, 20 percent say they wish they had asked about repairs and upgrades that would be needed within the next five years and 17 percent say they should’ve found out the age of the roof, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. Thirty-four percent of participants said they were surprised by how often things break and 42 percent were surprised by how difficult it can be to find reliable contractors. In other words, home maintenance has a way of taking new homeowners by surprise – and it shouldn’t. (source)
