Structure related questions:

Location:

Where exactly this house is located? Is it a damp area, a flat or hilly one? Location is responsible for tons of things that can and do cause tons of damage to a home over the years. The worst thing is, without a deep inspection you will only notice many of these, once it’s too late. Refrain from flood areas and always check on the neighbors.

Roofing and the base:

There is an old saying according to which if the base is bad then everything is in fact bad. This is also true to houses. Except here, you also need to watch out for the roofing. If these two things are unclear or need re-establishment, this can cost the price of another house. Don’t buy a house which doesn’t have a clear proof of these two being recently fixed and guaranteed.

Heating and insulation:

And old heating system can prove disastrous and changing it is very expensive. Insulation also has an almost equal importance. And I do not only mean the windows but the whole house starting from walls to the ceilings.

Electrical system:

Older homes often don’t have their electronic system updated and sometimes it also gets forgotten when it comes to renovations. An outdated system can cause lots of trouble and even a fire hazard.

Bugs:

This is especially for the homes which are old and for those which are out in the nature and/or are surrounded by a garden and trees. Bugs and pests can cause incredible and often unseen damage to a property.

While these all may be hard for you to make sure of, my suggestion is to invest in a thorough property check before considering to buy a property.

Design features:

Look for a house that’s not north oriented and needs the least amount of renovation and modification possible. The rest mainly depends on personal preferences which you need to make your own checklist of.