We often see repairs needed to be made to a home after a home inspection. These three are the most expensive:
1. Water issues. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have a lot of rain, which means a lot of water in the soil. About 20% to 30% of crawl spaces in homes have water issues, which isn’t necessarily a problem. Having water there is a problem if it’s staying there, so you want to mitigate it. That can be as simple as trenching the crawlspace to the low point drain if you have one, adding a sump pump, adding a French drain, or a combination of multiple things. It can get expensive to fix, so if you have questions, I can refer you a contractor to help.
“I’ve seen both new and old roofs have issues.”
2. Roofs. Roofs have a lifespan of 15 to 30 years depending on the type, how it’s cared for, and the surrounding environment. It’s one of those things that we usually just don’t know about until we get to the home inspection. I’ve seen both new and old roofs having issues, so we want to see a roof that has three to five years of life left at least.
3. Sewer lines. If you haven’t bought or sold a home in the last five or 10 years, you might not have seen a sewer scope, but it’s commonplace now. We find that a lot of sewer lines are cracked, have root intrusion, or have different types of sewer lines that cause the connection to break down. I’d say 20% to 30% of our transactions have a sewer line issue. It’s fixable, but it can be costly.
If you have any questions about these three potentially expensive issues or about the Oregon market, give us a call or send us an email. We’d be glad to help you!
