Six Signs Your Home Seller Is Hiding Something

Buying a home is always a big decision. For most people, this is a huge amount of money, so this decision is stressful at the best of times, and scary when the market is tight . These market forces can cause house hunters to do some pretty crazy things, like contemplating renovation drama , or even buying houses without ever seeing them in real life.

The worst part is that your stress levels will likely reach their highest levels after you’ve bought a home because that’s when all the hidden, overlooked, and unnoticed problems will surface. More than three-quarters of home buyers discover costly renovations soon after moving into a new home, which typically occurs when people are most strapped for cash.

Most of these problems are simply bad luck and part of the home ownership experience, but sometimes sellers knew there were problems with the house and decided not to disclose them. It’s unethical and downright evil, but if you’re not careful, it can happen to you.

Strange production

When viewing a potential home, it’s not unusual to question the sanity and taste of the current owner – design and layout choices are highly subjective and personal. But strange staging can also be the result of an attempt to hide damage or obvious signs of problems, such as water stains or structural cracks. A few things to pay attention to:

• Furniture arrangement. Sofas or other large objects that seem out of place may be hiding problems on the wall or floor. Look under and behind them to see what’s there.

• Curtains. Curtains are quite common in many homes, but think about their size and placement. Curtains where there are no windows are a clear sign of either a strange design idea or hidden damage. Curtains placed at the very top of the wall or extending far beyond the width of the window can also hide something.

• Heaps of things. If you’re faced with large piles of stuff, especially in basements or attics, you might be tempted to chalk it up to a messy current owner. But a large pile of boxes in the basement may lie on top of signs of flooding or in front of cracks in the foundation. A huge pile of stuff in your attic could be hiding a roof leak or other problems.

• Outdoor furniture. Incorrect furniture placement is not just an internal problem. If you look around your yard and spot outdoor furniture (or strange statues or other props) sitting in an unusual location, check to see if there’s a patch of dry grass underneath that could indicate an old oil tank or other contamination in the yard. Earth.

Fresh paint

Giving your home a fresh coat of paint is not unusual when selling a home. But paint is the cheapest, fastest and easiest way to hide damage in your home, so pay attention to these tips:

• Single Room. If only one room in the entire house has been freshly painted, take a closer look. Painting may have been required after a roof leak or other damage.

• Painted deck. A deck is a great feature to have in a home, but if it looks freshly painted, it’s potentially a bad sign. Thick, durable exterior paint creates a shell that can hide rot, split boards and insect damage – just enough to make it your problem.

• Patched areas. Look closely at the fresh paint: are there any patches on the walls and ceiling? This may indicate repairs were made to repair structural cracks or water stains. If the underlying causes have not been addressed, fresh paint is just a temporary solution.

If the whole house has been painted, look at the job critically: a sloppy, quick paint job is often a sign of a cheap shot that will quickly ruin you.

Strange show time

Open houses remain a key marketing tool for selling a home. They give you the opportunity to go into space and check everything out. You should always visit the house several times before pulling the trigger, and try to tour the house at different times of the day to see what the area is like. If the current owners insist on a very limited and narrow viewing schedule, be suspicious: they may be trying to hide environmental factors such as noisy neighbors, huge traffic jams or regular flooding.

Advertising “as is”

When someone lists a house for sale ” as is “, you already know that there will be some problems with the house. You might expect this type of listing to indicate that the sellers are open and honest – they admit that the house may have some problems and needs some work, they just don’t want to be tasked with fixing anything.

But an “as is” listing is also a way to eliminate liability. If you buy a house, anything that comes up later is entirely your problem. Again, this is normal – it’s part of the “as is” deal, but be very careful because sellers may be hiding big problems behind smaller ones. If the problems sellers describe with a home don’t seem particularly dire and you’re starting to think this is the theft of the century, be suspicious. Most people won’t offer a home “as is” if the problems are easy to fix.

Too much air freshener

Smell is an underrated aroma that can have a big impact on our emotions and thought processes. You’ve probably heard the old advice about baking cookies to make your home cozier. Of course, a home that smells clean and fresh will look better than one that smells like old shoes and farts, and some sellers may try to leverage this with air fresheners or a diffuser. However, if a home attacks you with a wall of odors—if every room is covered in a wall of Febreze—it could be a sign that the homeowners are hiding a disturbing odor, such as mold or sewer sludge.

Things that don’t match

Finally, when you’re house hunting, put on your interior designer hat and take a critical look at finishes and fixtures. Odd, out-of-place items that are much newer or completely different in style from the things around them can be a sign of a quick and cheap fix. A few examples:

• A brand new faucet in an old and broken kitchen or bathroom.

• One new or non-conforming cabinet

• A section of fresh tile, much less faded than the rest

• New wallpaper that doesn’t match anything else in the room (or house)

• Much brighter ceiling tiles in a suspended ceiling

It can be fairly subtle, but if you walk into a house with your eyes open, inappropriate things will jump out at you and give you the opportunity to investigate.

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