25 Costly Home Buying Mistakes First-Time Buyers Regret The Most

Buzz Feed

19-07-2025

House hunting in today's market is stressful enough without discovering major problems after you've already signed on the dotted line. While most buyers focus on obvious issues like leaky roofs or outdated electrical systems, there are subtler warning signs that, typically, only industry insiders or experienced buyers know to spot. Building on previous deep dives into realtor insights, we've gathered even more professional red flags that could save you from a costly mistake. Whether it's a sewage disaster waiting to happen or a suspicious neighbor's yard full of hate symbols (yes, really), here are 25 kinds of homebuying red flags that don't always show up on Zillow:
"I am a realtor. Check the house out at different times of the day — people coming and going from work and school. I had one buyer who was shocked that kids took a shortcut across his front yard on the way home from school. They wanted a neighborhood where they could walk after dinner, and what they found was everybody walking their dogs, who were pooping in their front yard! You can fix just about anything in the home, but the surroundings are impossible to change."
"There may be a neighbor next door with five cars who's always blocking your driveway, or a neighbor who lets their dog run loose."—realtorinpink
"If you like to order stuff online, you might want to check what the delivery options to the area are."
—whale_tail
"Grading, hands down. Or the angle at which the ground slopes at the house's foundation. If the ground slopes towards the house, then any rain will just be funneled to your foundation, which can cause some big problems. Extra caution if it's sloped concrete, like a driveway, because that means either mud jacking or jackhammering, which are both labor and cost-intensive. Seriously, when looking at a house, do a walk around the perimeter first. Could save you tens of thousands of dollars on future foundation problems."
—Jtizzzle
"Never buy a house close to the street drain — you're at the bottom of the street."
—angelicmug934
"Pull up the Google Earth view to find property problems. One house we looked at had a chemical dump two blocks away, and another a water treatment plant. There was also one with a beautiful view from the first floor, but then from the second floor, you could see the oil refinery."
—angelicmug934
"Check your neighbor's property for strange designs or runes. The next-door neighbor of the house I purchased was a huge white supremacist. I didn't know until a workman told me what one of the symbols meant. The neighbor moved out of state and was extradited back on hate crimes a few years later."
—missrayne
"Make sure you ask if anyone has died on the property. Some places don't have to tell you unless you ask. There was a house not far from where I lived that had a murder-suicide. The couple didn't know until after they moved in and got freaked out."
"Our first morning in our 'new' house, it was raining hard outside. Water was leaking in from around the fireplace to the point that we needed pans to catch it. When we looked at the house, the only access to the attic was through a closet in a spare bedroom, but it was packed to the ceiling with stuff, not clothes, just fragile junk. On that first day, my husband got a ladder and climbed through the hole into the attic. There, he found three shower curtains surrounding the chimney. The previous owners would not acknowledge the leak, even though they had lived there for 10-plus years. We had to sue to be reimbursed for the cost of flashing around the exterior of the fireplace and having the ceiling repaired and painted."
"Lucky for them, we only asked for the actual cost, including the lawyer, who was very reasonable in New Hampshire."—rednugget7583
"Check the property in all sorts of weather conditions! Visit during different times of day and days of the week! Research the neighbors!"
"Retired appraiser here. Appraisals are not home inspections. Absolutely hire a state-licensed inspector who works for you. They check everything. Inspectors should be insured in case they miss something. Ask to see their license and insurance confirmation — just a letter stating they're insured on the insurance company's letterhead. Do not skimp on this. It's the largest purchase of your life. Worth the money. It's also a good bargaining tool for closing costs."
"Get the damn sewer line inspected! Basement sewer backups are the worst!"
"I always look to see if the house is on septic. If it is, I go straight to the kitchen sink to see if it has a garbage disposal. If it does, you have to check the tank and disposal to make sure they were designed to work together. If they weren't, run away. The cost to replace the tank and drainage field is easily over $50,000."
—metallicadmiral353
"Honestly, find out when the last time the water pipes were replaced in the neighborhood. This isn't something necessarily in the homeowner's control, but if it's been a while, it might be a good idea to pass. The pipes in my neighborhood hadn't been worked on in 30 years. In the past two years, almost everyone has had issues with burst pipes and flooding right on the edge of their properties. Eventually, the water company updated all the connections, but only after it became clear the leaks were on their end. Everyone with an issue had to pay a good chunk to get their pipes inspected, and some had to do expensive repairs on their houses."
"Most issues are what a good home inspector looks for. What buyer is going to crawl up on the roof or know how to inspect a furnace? Get a good home inspection before you buy — it's worth every penny."
"25-plus years and it boils down to a few rules: 1) DIY — not everyone should be allowed inside Home Depot. 2) You cannot smell the internet. See it in person. 3) There is more data than ever before to tell us about traffic, crime, and school districts. 4) If you can sit down in the house at the dining room table or on the sofa, and imagine yourself living there, and don't just walk through it like it's a museum — that's a good sign. 5) Everything can be fixed — it's just how many zeroes are on the check. You may be willing to waive inspections to be competitive, but understand that comes with consequences."
—happywalrus955
"Speaking from personal experience, look out for a seller who likes to do DIY home improvements. Sure, those cabinets look OK, but you are in for a lifetime of problems! For example, the DIY kitchen cupboards we inherited all have awkward and poorly sealed gaps, which became the scene of a mouse and cockroach infestation. We had to rip it all apart to figure that out. I'm NEVER, ever buying a home from a DIY'er again! Almost 10 years later, and we still regularly find a new catastrophe caused by his DIY projects!"
"DIY is fine — if the work was inspected by the county. If the county doesn't require permits for the work, then look closely. If major repairs or updates were done without permits, and something happens, it is completely possible that your insurance may not cover the issue. For instance, most places require a permit for pools. However, too many homeowners put in pools without required permits — meaning the fence, the electric, and the pool itself aren't approved. The seller then tries to say the pool was there when they bought the house. No. Don't buy it. That pool likely wasn't permitted. PVC pipes and electrical wires also have dates on them. Look under the sinks at the plumbing. Look in the basement. Ask if any new outlets or lights have been added — those need electrical permits. If your inspector doesn't check for that, your county just might — and make them get inspected. Ask what was missed."
—icymagazine491
"I like to look up where the sun rises and sets, where are the cold winter winds going to come from — usually the northwest. And when it's raining hard, I want to see where the water goes. Are there any drains that aren't working well? What's going on with the gutters and downspouts?"
"If you think about the age of the home, you should already know what to look for. What was common in that era? Always ask for utility bills."
—realtorinpink
"Monday-to-Friday neighborhood traffic is different than weekend traffic."
"I always talk to the neighbors! And when someone is looking at a house near mine, I meet them if possible. Neighbors know things even real estate agents don't — like when major things were wrong and how people might be covering it up. They also know about stuff like traffic being rerouted through the neighborhood for a major tennis tournament every year. And let's be real: Neighbors also show you whether or not you think you can stand to live next to them."
"Always check the basement ceiling for mold. It will probably be black. This stuff is deadly and extremely expensive to deal with. Do this especially if you see a de-humidifier in the basement."
—deleted
"Be extra thorough if the house used to be rented out. We bought a house that was rented out the year before we moved in, and it was RIDDLED WITH BEDBUGS. The inspector will not check for this. It cost us thousands."
"In the US, make sure you know the utility options before you buy — especially the internet — because you rarely have a choice between two or more utilities. Make sure it's something you can tolerate."
"For the love of god, check your cellphone signal in the house. I just moved into a new house, and I have one bar on the second floor — if I stand on a chair. It turns out there's only one cell tower to serve the surrounding neighborhood of more than 200 houses. And since it's next to a neighborhood of million-dollar homes, they can't get the approval to put in another one, so I'm shit out of luck."
—Caliblair
Realtors and experienced buyers, what red flags did we miss? Drop your insights in the comments or through this anonymous form below! Your tip could make it into a future post and help someone avoid a homebuying nightmare.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length/clarity.