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Talked to my neighbor who's a plumber about the $20k sewer line repair he just did on a house in Plaza Midwood, and he said something that made me look at old listings totally different.
He said he can tell just from the street which houses from the 50s are about to have a major problem, because of the trees. The roots go for the old clay pipes every time. Now I'm looking at all these charming old bungalows and wondering if the pretty oak out front is a $15,000 time bomb waiting to go off. Has anyone else had a pro point out a hidden cost like that after you already liked a place?
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rowanf647d ago
Wow, that's a really sharp observation. It makes you wonder about all the other hidden costs tied to mature landscaping, not just trees. That beautiful ivy covering the brick could be trapping moisture and rotting the wood behind it, or those big shrubs planted right against the foundation might be hiding drainage issues that cause a wet basement. It turns the whole yard into a list of things to inspect.
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emery187d ago
Man that is such a gut punch. You fall in love with a house for its character and then find out its biggest charm might cause its worst problem. Makes you feel like you need to be a detective just to buy a place. I'd be staring at every old tree with total suspicion now too.
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