Skip to main content

Properties You Should Not Buy

 Visit Our Website

Most people don’t know what to watch out for when buying a property for personal use or for rental purposes. You cannot base your interest in properties only on price alone; it must meet all other criteria for a good buy. So ensure to carry out proper inspection and investigation on the house and the surrounding area or community.

These are some things to consider before paying for aproperty.

·        Closeness to a valley or gully: Any building or land close to valley is prone to land slide that can occur anytime in the future without warning. These areas are also pathway for rainwater which is naturally finding its way from uplands to the valleys, therefore will be prone to erosion.

·        Never buy a house in an area with too many bent houses and structural cracks: An area with too many bent buildings suggest that the depth of refusal (hard incompressible soil) being used as piling end depth may be wrong or poor piling practices may have been carried out by the companies that handled the job. Proper investigation has to be done to ascertain the reason for having several sinking houses in the vicinity. If you go ahead and buy a house in the area it will be a matter of time before the house start sinking too, the only exception is if there is a detailed piling document issued by a reputable company that did the job. The piling document has to be extensively verified for adequate compliance. Nevertheless, it will be better to get a land and carry out comprehensive soil test and do the foundation piling with a reputable company. This way you are certain the piling was done properly to the right depth.

·        Buildings that have been exposed to continuous flooding for years: This makes the foundation weak and may be at the verge of collapse. Before buying a ready remodeled or renovated house built several years back, ensure to do the right structural integrity checks. If you must buy this house for remodeling or renovation, proper assessment must be carried out to ascertain the structural integrity. Most times, if there is high risk resulting from defects like bending, cracks and settlement in the structure of the building; it will be wise to demolish the structure and build a new house from the foundation.

·        Property at the bottom of a slope: Plots of land at the bottom of a slope are prone to flooding due to natural drainage of water coming from the uphill lands. This is even worse when there is no channel for onward drainage of the flood from your property to a nearby river or valley. Such buildings may suffer from severe gully erosion because of concentrated runoff from steep ground into depressions. These flood water carry debris that elevate the potential to damage structures and injure people. Sometimes, people buy properties at the bottom of the sloppy area and enjoy it for some years with very little flooding, however, after several years they begin to experience severe flooding, and this is due to more houses being built up hill. These houses and their compound flooring reduce the exposed surface area of the soil for the rainwater to sink naturally into the ground and thus increase flooding in the immediate environment.

·        Structures with more than two floors: In areas where there are minimal government oversight to ensure that the approved structural plans were followed strictly during construction, some people use substandard materials to save cost. Many of such structures that were built years ago have the tendency to collapse due to bad design, faulty construction and/or foundation failure. Such collapse results from cracks and differential settlement which has a huge effect on the structural integrity of the houses. Building inspection (visual inspection, concealed object inspection, dampness inspection and stress and strain survey) needs to be carried out to know the risk of such existing buildings before you buy.

·        Riverfront properties: Living by a river may have several benefits but the disadvantages should be considered.  Waterfront properties with flowing water are easily affected by erosion and avulsion; this is the natural washing and tearing away of land over which it passes. Relying on building reinforcement to strengthen an existing riverfront building can be very expensive. Also these areas might be plagued by a great deal of activities and noise coming from watercraft, yelling etc. It is easy for people to trespass on your property due to the easy access from the river. Flooding is the greatest risk for the houses as varying water levels throughout the year can cause serious trouble.

·        Low foundations: Never buy a house with foundation at the same level or lower than the road. It is very important to check the topography of the area. More importantly, one should consider the level of the land/compound around the building with respect to the road. The higher the compound and the house compared to the road, the better. This will prevent flood from entering the compound as well as the house from the road.


Ø  Selection tips before you purchase the land site for building a rental property

Ø  How to prioritize your budget to get back the best sale or rental value

Ø  Challenges of Managing Rental Properties

Ø  What You Should Know About Real Estate Speculation


Disclaimer
Any views or opinions represented in this blog belong solely to the blog writer/owner and do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the writer/owner may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated.
Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The writer/owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.
The writer/owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The writer/owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.
Comments are welcome. However, the blog writer/owner reserves the right to edit or delete any comments submitted to this blog without notice due to:
- Comments deemed to be spam or questionable spam.
- Comments including profanity.
- Comments containing language or concepts that could be deemed offensive.
- Comments containing hate speech, credible threats, or direct attacks on an individual or group.
The blog owner is not responsible for the content in comments.

This blog disclaimer is subject to change at any time.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Other interesting posts

Merits and Demerits of Building a House from Scratch

Visit Our Website Building a house from scratch for rental purposes or outright sale has its merits and demerits as compared to renovating an existing building.    Merits You can have an input on the architectural design of the house. You can decide how the external view and the interior of the house should look like. Creating an area with good and easy to move around living space can make the apartment appealing to tenants. You can decide the budget for the project. Based on your estimated selling price for the proposed property, you can decide on the budget you want to put into the investment to give you a reasonable profit margin. You can decide the number of bedrooms for each apartment. Most times with a good survey of the vicinity you will be able to tell what kind of apartment will rent faster and give higher returns. Example the difference between 1-bedroom apartment and 2- bedroom apartment or 2- bedroom apartment and 3- bedroom apartment may not be ...
5 comments
Read more

A Landlord’s Checklist: What to Know Before Renting Out Your Property

  Visit Our Website  Renting out a property is not just a financial decision—it is a powerful way to build wealth, create passive income, and establish long-term security for yourself and your family. Whether you are leveraging a second home, downsizing, or exploring real estate investing, becoming a landlord opens the door to new opportunities. While it may seem daunting at first, with the right preparation and smart strategies, you can protect your investment, maximize your returns, and enjoy the benefits of owning real estate. The following steps will help you build a successful and rewarding rental experience. 1. Understand Your Legal Responsibilities As a landlord, you are subject to local, state, and federal laws that govern the rental process. These include rules related to fair housing, tenant rights, eviction procedures, security deposits, habitability standards, and other relevant matters. Familiarize yourself with the Fair Housing Act to avoid discriminatory practic...
Post a Comment
Read more

Difference Between Cost, Expense, Liabilities, Asset, Income and Equity

     Visit Our Website  Asset, equity, income, cost, expenses, and liability in this write-up will be viewed from a real estate investor's standpoint. They are interrelated and it will be good for investors to have a clearer understanding of these words. An asset is a resource with economic value that an individual, corporation, or country owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide a future benefit. An asset can also be something you own containing economic value right now and/or future value . So, we can simply define an asset as anything of value that can be converted into cash. Assets are tangible and intangible. Tangible assets include current assets (cash, inventory, and accounts receivables) and fixed assets (Buildings, land, cars, and equipment). On the other hand, intangible assets include copyrights, trademarks, patents, etc. All investments are assets but not all assets are investments. An investment yields income or profit but not all asse...
Post a Comment
Read more

It Is Better To Renovate Before Renting Out After Tenants Vacate A House

  Visit Our Website  Rental apartments or houses are left in a state of disrepair most of the time by the tenants when they move out, these make the house look dilapidated and low-valued. A conscious effort needs to be put in place by the management company/landlord to ensure constant repairs are carried out by both the tenant and landlord as stated in the tenancy agreement. These repairs should include plumbing, wardrobes/cabinets, electrical fixtures, doors, and keys, etc. The management company/landlord should visit the tenant periodically as stated in the agreement (could be quarterly, bi-annually, or yearly). This will ensure that the house is not dilapidated. A dilapidated rental needs a lot more money to renovate the apartment or house when the tenant moves out. In an ideal situation, the landlord will have to put things right each time a tenant packs out before letting the house out to the next occupant. Most times renovating your house before renting them out helps b...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Relevance of a High Oversite Concrete/Foundation of a House

Visit Our Website Oversite concrete (often referred to as German floor by the laymen) is a layer of concrete used to seal the earth under the ground floor of a house. Before pegging and digging the foundation of the proposed building. The first thing is to determine how high the oversite concrete of the house should be raised above the natural ground level. Note that there will be many different levels on a sloped land. It is very important to check the topography of the area. More important is the level of the land with respect to the road. If the road is tarred, use it as a reference for determining how high to fill the land when the building is completed for proper grading of the yard for surface drainage. But if the road is not tarred, endeavor to put into consideration how high in the future you think the road will be filled or excavated during construction and use that as a guide or reference. Having a good knowledge of how high the land should be filled to ena...
Post a Comment
Read more