When looking for the right handyman special homes it pays to do your own visual inspection of the property. This is a simple inspection you can do, while walking through the property on your first visit. You’ll only need to have a simple checklist in mind for the visual inspection and it will help you in weeding out potential rehabbing houses from those that are just too far gone!

Of course, I always recommend hiring a home inspector before you actually buy any property. Unless, you have previous experience as a home inspector or a contractor, there are things a professional will be able to pick up in those handyman special homes that you just won’t. In rehabbing, you’ve got to make sure you know everything that’s wrong with those handyman special homes before you buy.

This doesn’t mean you can’t save yourself some money and time, by doing your own visual inspection on those rehabbing houses. You’ll be able to notice anything that’s obviously going to cost more to fix than you can afford in your budget and so, pass by on the property without having to pay for a home inspection to figure it out!

Things to look for in a visual inspection of those handyman special homes:

• Stand across the street from the property and look at the exterior of the home. It should look like a well built structurally sound property. There shouldn’t be any sagging or tilting of the structure. Sagging indicates the structure is unsound and that the wood isn’t any good. Tilting or leaning can also indicate a problem with the foundation. Both of which are going to cost a lot of money to fix.

• Look at the yard of those rehabbing homes. Do they look flat or have low lying areas? This can indicate a potential problem with flooding and drainage that you’ll want to fix. It can also indicate potential problems in the basement of the home where previous flooding has left the basement flooded.

• Walk around the outside of the home. Test a few pieces of siding to see if they are secure. Press into them with your hand or a screwdriver to make sure they aren’t rotted through.

• Look over the foundation of those handyman special homes. They should be level, strong and without cracks or decay. Believe me; you don’t want to spend a lot of time jacking up the foundation of rehabbing houses!

• Walk about the inside of the home looking for water marks. Check the ceilings, along the walls and floors, and don’t forget to look inside closets and under sinks. Upstairs leaks that have seeped through to the first floor ceiling may have also damaged the wood structure of the home. Take along a good flashlight with you to look around in those mysterious dark areas of a home.

• Keep an eye out for signs of pests and infestations. You’ll have to hire a good exterminator to get rid of rats, mice, termites and other unwanted residents of those handyman special homes. Save yourself a hassle and just don’t buy properties with that problem. Look for droppings along the walls, beams and wooden areas with bite marks and holes wear boring insects have made their way into the wood. Take a flat head screwdriver with you to press against the wood siding, walls, cabinets and other wooden spaces. You don’t have to press to hard against the wood to figure out if it’s still strong and solid. The screwdriver will go straight through wood that’s rotted through.

• Warped floors, ceiling, and walls of handyman special homes are also pretty obvious when you look at it. To determine if the warped floors are going to take a lot of fixing you’ll need to press against the walls with your hands. Really lean in on the wall, and press down on the floor and ceiling. If it’s just the sheet rock and linoleum that’s damaged the wood beams under the wall and ceiling won’t give way when you press on them. If more than just the sheet rock gives when you press on the wall, you’ll probably have to spend money tearing down walls and putting up new structure.

It should be easier for you to select more likely rehabbing houses for your projects with this checklist of problems to keep an eye out for. Don’t forget to take along your handy tools for that visual inspection of those handyman special homes; a flathead screwdriver, flashlight, and notepad and pencil so you can take your own notes.