The orientation, the state of kitchen and bathroom and humidity are the most important items to check when buying. And the best advice: the first impression is not the one that counts.

Finding a house, finding it and buying it is one of the most stressful moments in life. And a decision in which there is no option to take a false step. What do you have to look at before signing a property so as not to take a surprise within a few months of moving?

Today we will provide you with useful information highlighting the most crucial factors that you need to take into account when buying a new house. Also, take into account that if you want to know if a building or buying house you want to buy is still sustainable and will not cause you further trouble in the future then contact us today and we will carry out an evaluation. The advice of our experts will be of major help and save you from future problems.

First, you do not have to keep the first impression. You must see it several times, at separate times, on different days of the week and accompanied. If possible, travel with a qualified professional. Look at the constructive details of the property and, if it is a department, ask permission to review the common spaces. These are the main points to consider.

Humidity. It is one of the most common problems in both houses and apartments when buying. It can be covered with paint, so you must be wary of the properties that are freshly painted. You must take the trouble to look up and down the walls. The typical signs of humidity are air bubbles in the paint and the places where walls and ceilings change colour or with stains. We need to pay even more attention in apartments and top floors.

Walls, floors and balconies. It is necessary to see that there are no cracks in the walls and floors, a symptom of constructive problems that are difficult to solve. It is convenient to cross the street and look at the fronts. It is always better that they are coated than only painted. Rust stains on the base of the balconies and the detachments of masonry are a bad sign.

The materials. The details and the quality of construction are also important. In many cases they are determined by the materials that were used. We can make the mistake of choosing inappropriate construction materials when we are making some changes at home like a remodelling or maybe when we start efficient self-construction; choosing the right materials from a paint jar, a type of tile, ceramics, pipes from sanitary or electrical installations can be the difference between having the home of our dreams or one full of problems.

Follow these practical recommendations to choose the materials of your home:

• Quality of the material: We are always told that quality is expensive, this is true, but in construction finishes you can get the look you want in your home with little budget, without sacrificing quality, the key is that you choose the right material according to the use that you will give it and the climate aspect of your area.

• The appearance of the material: When we are determined to buy a construction material that we liked a lot and want to apply to the facade or in some detail of the interior of the house, the most important thing is to know how it will be in the whole, most people buy by impulse simply they liked it, but when that material is applied where it corresponds, it is really bad.

The simplest solution is to see photos on the Internet (Google images is a repository of thousands of photos) of that construction finish you want.

• Material maintenance

Many people choose to apply on their facades stone and wood for example, this combination is great (decoratively speaking), but we must bear in mind that these materials need maintenance, we have for example that the stone being rustic finish are usually embed elements such as earth and smog in the city, so if you do not give proper periodic maintenance the house will look old and opaque soon after.

The orientation. It is very important: it determines the light and the warmth of the environments. You must consider the luminosity, as well as the exposure to wind and rain. The best sun is that of the morning, so the specialists recommend that the front yard looks to the East and the backyard to the West, but the North-South orientation is also good. One detail: houses that are hot in summer, are always cold in winter.

The kitchen and the bathroom. They are two key environments, because renewing them takes an important budget. The quality details are given by the taps, the artefacts and the furnishings. Open the taps to know how much water pressure there is and, to know if the room is well ventilated, check if fungi are seen in the bathroom ceiling and check if the kitchen has extractor or hood with exit to the outside.

The terrace. In case the property has its own terrace, look if it is only waterproofed (in this case the membrane is almost always painted red or black) or if it also has a tile floor. The membrane alone usually skips with use, so you should check if the material has cracks or fissures.

The neighbourhood. It is always good to go around the area before deciding, to see the security and how it is at night. You also have to think about the day you want to sell: “Being on an avenue or near the subway, green spaces, shopping centres and universities helps to revalue a property”.

At Able Building Inspections we are specialists in the inspection of buildings that have been affected over time. We have more than 23 years of experience inspecting buildings and helping people make the smartest choice when looking to purchase a house