If you’re in the market for a new home, knowing what you want and what to look for during the house hunting process is crucial to being happy and confident with your purchase. Make the most of the walk-through – ask questions, assess how well the residence has been maintained, and pay close attention to the electrical system, plumbing, and the roof. It has to protect your expensive investment: before buying a house, check out the gutter system.
Before Viewing a House
For each house you would like to view, ask your real estate agent for the following documents:
- MLS (Multiple Listing Service) sheet – provides basic information such as the age of the property, lot size, and annual property taxes
- PDS (Property Disclosure Statement) form – reported major leaks, mould and structural issues, anything that cannot be seen during a standard visual inspection
- Title Search – lists the registered owner and any legal claims, mortgages, etc.
Seeing these documents before viewing a house helps you screen out unsuitable properties and avoid inheriting expensive problems such as upgrading the electrical system to current building codes or paying for a roof replacement.
Bring a tape measure (to ensure larger pieces of furniture will fit) and a pair of binoculars (to inspect the gutters and roof from the ground).
Ask Questions
Because Metro Vancouver gets a lot of rain, don’t be afraid to ask the current homeowners basic questions about the gutters and downspouts. When doing walk-throughs, a person can miss hidden defects and other gutter system related issues if the weather has been dry for two or more days. Some questions to ask include:
- When was the last time both the roof and the gutters were inspected by a licensed contractor?
- When were the gutters last professionally cleaned?
- How often are the gutters maintained by a professional gutter technician?
- Do the roof and/or gutters come with a warranty?
- What happens when it rains? (The gutters overflow on the north side when it rains heavily; the gutter system has leaf protection; in the past year we’ve noticed water pooling beneath the downspouts)
Asking direct questions can give you immediate answers that will help you decide if the home is worth your consideration.
Things to Look For
Take note of any water stains, peeling paint, etc. on interior walls and ceilings.
Check the basement for damp and mould.
Walk around the perimeter of the house, checking for cracks in the foundation, soil erosion, stained siding, and damaged soffit and fascia.
If the roof has multiple rooflines, check to see that each level or tier has its own gutter run and downspout. Allowing the runoff to travel over roofing shingles until it reaches the gutters can shorten the roof’s lifespan or be a potential source of leaks.
You most likely won’t be able to climb a ladder and check for blockages, but use binoculars to look for the following signs of a gutter system in distress:
- Debris build-up that can be seen from the ground
- Streaking on the outside of the gutters
- Missing gutter sections
- Gutters pulling away from the fascia
- Sagging gutters
- Damaged or missing hardware on the gutters and/or downspouts
- Detached downspouts from the gutter outlets
How close to the foundation do the downspouts deposit the runoff? It should be a minimum of five feet; best case scenario 10 feet from the house to the drainage area.
How many downspouts are there? An insufficient number of downspouts can be the cause of overflowing gutters, pooling water underneath the downpipes, basement flooding, and a shifting foundation.
