Matt Biggley, REALTOR®
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For first-time buyers

The Skip List: the houses I'd walk away from.

Finding a house you love is the easy part. Knowing which ones to skip is most of the job. I renovated for fifteen years before I was licensed, and this is the list I run through in every house, in the order I check it.

Published Updated Reviewed by Matt Biggley

Before you fall for it

Not every problem is a skip. Some are just a price.

A skip is a problem that costs more than the house is worth to you, or can't be fixed at all. Everything else is a conversation about price, and an inspection tells you which is which.

  1. 01

    Location

    The single biggest skip, because it's the one thing you can't renovate. A great house on the wrong street stays on the wrong street.

    • What the homes around it look like, and whether the street is cared for
    • A very busy road out front or behind
    • Farms, factories or anything else you can smell or hear, at different times of day
    • How the neighbourhood feels to you on a weeknight, not just a Saturday afternoon
  2. 02

    Foundation and water

    I look here first. Cracking, bowing walls and water coming in are the problems that get expensive and stay expensive.

    • Cracks in the foundation walls, especially wide or stepped ones
    • Walls that bow or lean inward
    • Water stains, efflorescence or a damp smell in the basement
    • Signs of past waterproofing, and paperwork for it
  3. 03

    Permits

    Additions and major work should have been permitted, so the municipality inspected and approved it. Owners who do it themselves often skip that step, and it becomes your problem.

    • Additions, finished basements, decks and new bathrooms: were they permitted?
    • Electrical and plumbing work done by the owner
    • Ask for permits and final inspections before you firm up
  4. 04

    Furnace, air and water heater

    Age, ownership and service history. One of my clients recently replaced a furnace and air conditioner for $15,000.

    • How old the furnace, air conditioner and water heater are
    • Whether they're owned or rented, and what the rental contract costs
    • Service records, or at least a recent service sticker
    • Boiler heat, which works well but can make a home harder to resell
  5. 05

    Roof

    You want to know how many years it has left before you're the one paying for it.

    • How old the roof is
    • Curling, cracked or missing shingles, and granules in the eavestroughs
    • Stains on the ceilings underneath
  6. 06

    Brick, windows and the outside shell

    Keeping weather out is cheaper than fixing what it does once it's in.

    • Brick that needs repointing, with mortar crumbling or missing
    • Windows that aren't properly caulked or sealed
    • Soft or rotting wood around windows and doors
  7. 07

    Layout

    You can repaint anything. Moving a staircase or fixing a dark, awkward house is a different budget entirely.

    • Too many stairs, or stairs in the wrong places for how you'll live
    • Dark rooms that no amount of lighting will fix
    • A clunky kitchen layout
    • Not enough storage
    • Spaces that don't work for how your family actually functions
  8. 08

    The seller

    If the seller isn't reasonable and fair in their expectations, that's a skip too. Some houses are fine. Some deals aren't.

    • A price well above what similar homes have Sold for
    • No room to deal with what the inspection finds
    • Unrealistic closing dates or conditions

Foundation first

Water is usually the cheapest fix of the big ones.

Not every wet basement is a skip. Waterproofing is often the least expensive of the major repairs. Interior waterproofing came in at about $70 a foot on my last quote. Cracks that are moving, and walls that are bowing, are a different story. That's when I'd want a structural opinion before you firm up.

How to use it

At the showing, then with an inspector

Use the list to decide which houses are worth a second look. Then, before your offer is firm, have a qualified home inspector go through the one you want. I'll stand in the basement with you and tell you what I see, but a list and a walk-through don't replace an inspection.

Know your real number too

A house that passes the Skip List still has to fit your budget every month, not just on the day you buy it. The Real Monthly Cost calculator adds property tax, insurance, utilities and upkeep to the mortgage payment.

Limits

This is how I look at a house, not a home inspection, an engineering opinion or legal advice. Ask the municipality for permit records, and a qualified inspector or engineer about anything structural.

Website request

Get the printable Skip List.

I'll email you the one-page checklist to bring to showings, with a box to tick for each item. If you're earlier in the process, we can also sit down for an hour before you look at a single house.

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