What to look for while doing a walkthrough in Maine

Question

What should I look

For when doing a walkthrough here in New England and how so I calculate repair costs ?

Jeremy A. · Answer

Even though we are overall safer than most all other populated states....

Here are the 10 most dangerous cities in Maine for 2020:

• Augusta
• Skowhegan
• Biddeford
• Bangor
• Auburn
• Houlton
• Rumford
• Portland
• Sanford
• Waterville
• Sabattus
• Cape Elizabeth
• Cumberland
• Eliot
• Gorham
• Yarmouth
• Hampden
• Kennebunk
• Gardiner
• Oakland

• Sabattus
• Cape Elizabeth
• Cumberland
• Eliot
• Gorham
• Yarmouth
• Hampden
• Kennebunk
• Gardiner
• Oakland

Source.

www.homesnacks.net/cit...

David Marshall · Answer

Hi Allison, please check out "The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs" by J Scott, which is published by BiggerPockets. The book is an excellent resource and you can find in the BP Bookstore.

Tyler Bushey · Answer

Have a contractor give an estimate when you're new, once you've got experience you'll be better suited to estimate yourself.

Ed Emmons · Answer

Roof bubbles aren’t an issue if you are replacing the roof anyway but the foundation could potentially be much more serious. If you don’t have experience, this would be a good place to spend some money on someone who knows. I’ve done many houses and know foundations. A bad foundation can kill a deal even if all else looks good unless you figure a significant budget to repair or replace. Your end buyer or the bank will require it. Under some situations it is not feasible to fix a foundation making the home worthless.

Amy A. · Answer

Typical issues include knob and tube wiring, decks improperly flashed, causing rot below, and moisture issues in the attic causing mold.

Allison Meggison · Answer

This is me shining a flashlight on the bubble

Allison Meggison · Answer

Thank you for all your feedback!! The house is in Lewiston Maine. I already met with the seller today. The roof needs to be replaced I think. From the outside it looks like there's a huge bubble in the roof. I'll try to attach pictures. I need to calculate repair costs for everything. The owner said it needs new shingles. Also the foundation is doing something weird because the 1st floor is unlevel and so is the 2nd story. It's like walking up and down hills.

Brett Jones · Answer

That's a very broad question, with a ton of variables. On the inspection side of things, if you don't have much, or any construction knowledge, a good place to start may be some instructional literature for residential building inspections (Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Home-In...). Specific to New England I'd break it down to two types of small residential buildings, those that are built on stacked stone, brick or block foundations, and those built on poured foundations. I wouldn't say one if better than the other, and both are effected by water/drainage/moisture, but the issues to look for are different for both.

It might be easier to give you meaningful advise if you have specific questions, or examples of properties you're looking at.

Greg Morris · Answer

Depends of how old the house is. Maine has a lot of old wooden homes. Lots of rot in the older homes. Does it have wood sidin ? Does it need a paint job or new sidin. What's the roof look like, any signs of leaks. You get a lot of snow in Maine. What's is the heat source, is it old? I suggest you find a good GC like my sons at J&R grouping Inc located in Bangor Maine they might be able to help if the job is big enough. Look them up or connect with  me.

What to look for while doing a walkthrough in Maine

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