Buying A House-Checking Exterior Wood

Buying A House in Des Moines - Checking Exterior Wood, by Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts

You need to be very careful before committing to the purchase of a house in Des Moines. If the house has wood and brick on the exterior, you need to consider the following issues.

Wood Issues

Wood is a beautiful material, particularly when it is used on the exterior of a home in Des Moines. Compared to stucco and other materials, it is a wonder wood isn’t used more often. The reason, of course, is wood simply doesn’t hold up as well as man made materials, even in places like Des Moines. If you are looking at a home with a heavy emphasis on exterior wood siding, trim and so on, here are some things to watch out for when evaluating the opportunity.

1. The first thing to realize is the appearance of wood has almost no relevance to the condition. A perfectly good looking piece of wood trim may be infested with termites or rotting and you will never know by just glancing at it. When inspecting wood exteriors, never trust your eyes.

2. One of the biggest issues with wood in Des Moines is degradation. When looking at particular areas, make absolutely sure you physically touch the wood. In fact, you are probably best off giving it a fairly good poke with a finger. In doing so, you should be looking for soft areas. Soft areas are indicative of rot in one form or another. Finding rot in one area should make you very concerned about finding rot throughout the structure. Put another way, you may want to start looking at other Des Moines homes on your list.

3. Finding soft spots in wood can be troubling, but there is something worse. If you poke or squeeze a piece of wood and dust or bits fall off, run for the care. This type of degradation is often a sign of termite problems. Termite problems should be a huge red flag for any prospective home in Des Moines. If you buy the house, you are going to have to tent it to kill the bugs and pay to inspect and repair the damage done by the evil little bugs. In short, you are buying a minor, but expensive, nightmare.

Make no mistake, wood can be very attractive on the exterior of a home in Des Moines. Just make sure you don’t rely solely on a visual inspection of it when deciding on the merits of the house.

Let us help you find the right home in Des Moines. For everything Des Moines real estate visit us at Real Estate with RE/MAX. Please feel free to contact us with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and we will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call us at 1-800-708-5890 or email us at dsm@realestateconcepts.net.