As a New Jersey home inspector there are certain defects or problems that I find in homes that may lead me to not purchase that property. All issues of course can be fixed, however there are certain defects that may not be worth it, and you may want to move along to the next home. In this article I will describe some of those material defects where it may prove advantageous to remove that house from your consideration. I have not been in the home buying market for quite a while however I do think that these problems may be severe enough to have a client not consider a particular home. Generally, the following defects will be in the classification of material defects. A material defect is any problem found in the home that substantially affects the habitability, safety or value of a given property.
The first major issue is horizontal foundation wall cracking with movement or sheer. Long and wide foundation cracks as seen in basements or crawlspaces that are over a quarter-inch wide and have movement inward of the foundation wall are considered serious structural cracks. These cracks generally are caused by hydraulic or soil pressure pushing on the foundation wall where the design capacity of the foundation wall is exceeded. These cracks are structural in nature and will need significant and expensive repair and reinforcement. Not all cracks are this significant. What I’m describing here are long wide cracks that have been present for a long time and will need extensive repair and engineering work. If you see this type of crack in a home that you’re thinking about buying you may want to think twice about it because this type of cracking will be expensive to repair and there will always be open questions about it when you sell the home. When you sell the home, your buyer will want all documentation regarding the structural corrections and engineering documents. It is likely that your buyer will want to bring in their own engineer to evaluate the given repairs. This extra due diligence tends to slow down a real estate transaction. If you really love the home, you should consider getting an engineer to design an appropriate fix for the cracking. However often this type of cracking is significant, and it is sometimes wise to remove a home with this type of cracking from your consideration.
The next issue that I consider to be a major problem is significant negative slope or grading that will drive water to the house or garage. An experienced NJ home inspector will look for this issue when performing the exterior inspection of the home. If the home that you are purchasing sits low where the surrounding terrain is higher and is sloped negatively to the structure that is exactly what you do not want to see. This is a major problem because no matter how substantial a basement sump pump and dewatering system exists there will always be the potential of foundation wall cracking and also water infiltration or flooding. The probability of the home having significant structural and flooding issues is substantially increased by this important defect. So, when you’re looking for a home to buy make sure to walk around the exterior ground and make sure the water will not be direct toward the structure in any significant way. Some grading problems can be fixed with relative ease. However, when your home sits low and the surrounding grounds are high that is a problem that cannot be easily solved no matter what type of dewatering system you have in your basement or crawlspace.
The next issue goes together with the grading problem. You may want to avoid homes that have significant basement water infiltration problems. I’m not talking about a little seepage at the corner of the basement. I’m talking about a significant basement water problem where you see damage and staining around the interior basement walls. This problem is even worse in a finished basement because having a finished basement prevents you and I from viewing the interior basement foundation walls to determine if cracking caused by hydraulic pressure exists. If you have a significant basement water infiltration problem and the basement is finished that is a significant open risk to you because we cannot view the interior basement walls. Many times, homes with significant basement water infiltration problems or flooding will also have mold issues. Mold issues and water go together, and you want to make sure that your home does not have either. If you’re looking at a house and you see a lot of interior wall damage in the basement or see or view mold in the basement you may want to remove that house from consideration because significant corrections in the form of a french drain, perimeter drain, and sump pump dewatering system are likely to be necessary. If the home already has a basement dewatering system, it is likely failing or poorly designed. These corrections are expensive and can be extensive. Often the entire interior of the basement will need replacement if it is a finished basement.
If the home has an extensive mold issue you may want to think twice. I’m not talking about one or two areas of mold in the basement or attic what I’m saying is extensive mold problems where you see a lot of visible mold in the basement, crawlspace or attic. Mold needs moisture to grow so the mold is a marker for high moisture. This goes together with our basement or crawlspace water entry problem. Mold can be a significant health hazard especially in the immunocompromised. Mold can be expensive to cure and to remove. If the home, you’re thinking about purchasing has an extensive mold issue you may want to think twice and move on to the next home.
The next issue where I may want to think twice about buying a home is outward movement of the exterior walls coupled with roof sagging. When you look at home it is advantageous to make sure to walk around the exterior of the house and to eye up the exterior walls and try to determine if they are straight. If the exterior walls of the home at the top are being pushed outward coupled with sagging in the ridge area of the home this could indicate a significant structural issue that would be expensive to correct. An experienced New Jersey home inspector will be looking for this serious issue. The issue is repairable however it will take the expertise of an architect or engineer coupled with an experienced contractor to execute the repairs. If a home, you’re looking at has this type of problem where the outside walls are being pushed outward you may want to remove this house from your consideration just because of the sheer cost and challenges with repair of this type of structural issue.
The next two issues where I may remove the house from consideration are electrical issues that are specific to some homes. The first one is the presence of multiple knob and tube wiring circuits in the home. Knob and tube wiring is the earliest form of residential wiring, which is ungrounded, very old, most likely brittle and is obsolete. I would not remove a home from consideration if it were known to have a couple of older knob and tube circuits which can be replaced. What I’m talking about here is an older home that has the majority of the interior branch circuit wiring being knob and tube. Having knob and tube wiring in the walls and ceilings of the home especially covered in insulation’s is a significant fire risk. In fact, some insurance companies will not insure a home with active knob and tube wiring present. All knob and tube wiring should be removed from the home due to its age and obsolescence. Often, we find modern electrical wiring improperly spliced into older knob and tube wire creating an even more significant fire hazard. If the home, you are looking at has extensive knob and tube wiring you may want to remove it from your consideration given the challenge and difficulty necessary coupled with the expense of rewiring the whole home with modern electrical wire.
The next wiring issue is the existence of single-strand conductor aluminum wiring. Aluminum wiring is sometimes found in homes built in the late 1960s and early 1970’s. Aluminum wiring is a problem because once electrical current enters the wiring the aluminum heats up and expands. This expansion and contraction of the aluminum wiring creates the problem. Electrical arcing can occur if the connection of the aluminum wiring to the various connection points in the home gets loose. There are two repairs for aluminum wiring. One repair is pig tailing copper wire to the aluminum wiring at each junction or connection point of the aluminum wire throughout the house. This is done by using a special purple wire nut and aluminum oxide paste. The second correction is a cold weld type connection called Copalum connectors. Essentially this is cold welding copper wire to the aluminum wire at each connection point. I have yet to find a contractor who can do this type of repair with this type of correction. Pig telling is challenging because each aluminum connection to each junction point in a home including each light fixture, junction box, and receptacle have to be performed. If a couple are missing this is where you can have an electrical fire in the house. The other correction which is the safest is removing the existing aluminum wiring circuits and replacing them with copper wire. This is quite extensive and expensive however it is the option that is the preferred option. Some insurance companies will not insure a home with active aluminum wiring single-conductor circuits. If the home that you are thinking about buying has aluminum wiring throughout you may want to remove that home from consideration given the vast nature of the repairs and expense that are necessary.
If the home has significant rodent activity or pest activity, you may want to think twice about purchasing. In not talking about a few rodent droppings found in the garage or attic, what I’m talking about here is significant infestation were piles of rodent droppings are found throughout the home. Rodents’ excrement has viruses and creates unsafe health conditions in the home. The health issues coupled with the potential for rodents to gnaw and chew electrical wiring causing significant safety and fire hazards also exists. Rodents chewing, gnawing, and urinating can cause significant problems in the home as well as having an expensive and extensive cleanup. So, the home you’re thinking about purchasing has significant rodent or pest activity; you may want to think twice about purchasing depending on how extensive the infestation is.
Some of these issues you will be able to find yourself as a buyer others you will not. It pays to have a comprehensive and thorough New Jersey home inspection of the home you’re thinking about buying so you understand exactly what problems are present, so you are armed with the information necessary to make good purchasing decision. If any or multiple of the issues discussed are present in the home, you may want to move on with your search. Everything is capable of being repaired. The question is do you want to spend the time, energy, and expense of correcting these significant issues.