I am looking to buy a house in Houston Texas area. How can I DIY it?
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What type of help? I think you must know what strengths you have, like maybe you are pretty good at painting. I would use Yelp and other online forums for your area for those things that might be concerning for you, maybe electrical or plumbing?
Look on the web Remax has a nation wade website I know cause my brother in law works four them
You can ask us of course !
Check out Pearland, fastest growing community done right. Pay an engineer to thoroughly check the house for any problems
1) Find a good realtor. Remember that they work for the seller, not you, unless you enter into a Buyer's Agreement. They are required by law to point out serious defects in the home, especially if you directly ask. You are not required to stay with a realtor you aren’t connecting with.
2) Check public records (property taxes, foreclosures, etc.). If a homeowner was delinquent with these, they might be deficient in home maintenance, too. Also check for natural items, like flooding, high wind, etc. that might have impacted the home.
3) Take lots of photographs, especially of things that seem out of place, odd, or messy. Show them to experts in stores that sell/install the items (for example, water heater photo to a plumber or hardware store, skylight to a roofer or window installer) and ask their opinion. Also, check "special" features of the home. Any installed after the home was built, especially by a DIY homeowner, might have problems. Also tour the home at different times of day. Different lighting might reveal a problem.
4) Ask to be shown ALL areas of a home, including crawl spaces, basements, attics, storage, under stairs, above dropped ceilings, electric boxes, pipe connections, utility shut-offs, etc. There might be funky stuff hidden there. Jot down company info from tags/stickers, etc. on appliances, electric boxes, etc. Call and ask them about the work they've done at the home.
5) A home inspection will be required at closing. If you want one before that, you might have to get another when you close. They are not cheap but are generally worth the money. However, they highlight actual safety and code issues, not items that are just odd/nuisance/old that could suck up money. You can also get your own expert by paying a handyman to accompany you on a home tour.
Hope this helps!
any DIY projects that might be TOO much...? try HomeAdvisor.com for professionals in your area--but YOUTUBE is a fantastic source for help if you want to DoItYourself! good luck