Journal Tag
14 articles tagged "home inspection" from Rain City Properties.
The sewer lateral runs from your house to the city main, and in older Vancouver homes it's often clay, cracked, and full of tree roots. A working realtor's guide to why a camera inspection matters before you buy, what replacement costs, and who pays for what.
Sellers routinely spend on the wrong work before listing. A North Shore renovation contractor's filter for what earns its money back and what does not.
A working realtor's guide to crawlspace moisture and mould in older Vancouver homes: the warning signs, the health and structural risks, how vapour barriers and drainage help, what a home inspection catches, and what buyers should check before closing.
Metro Vancouver's mountain water is some of the softest in North America. That's good for appliances but hard on copper pipes. Here's what it means for your fixtures, water heater, and the plumbing maintenance to budget for in an older home.
Vancouver's Craftsman, Edwardian, and bungalow homes have real charm and solid framing. They also hide knob-and-tube wiring, oil tanks, and seismic risk. Here's how I help buyers check an old house before they commit.
Asphalt, cedar shake, metal, and torch-on flat roofs all age differently in Vancouver rain. Here's how long each lasts, what replacement actually costs, and how roof age changes your offer and your insurance.
Buying an acreage or edge-of-city lot near Vancouver often means a septic system, not municipal sewer. Here's how to tell which you have, what inspection and replacement cost, and how it affects your financing and resale.
A backyard pool sounds great until you see the annual bill in a city with a short swim season. Here's what a Vancouver pool really costs to run, what it does to resale, and how to decide whether to keep, fill, or renovate one.
Pre-1950 Vancouver homes often hide knob-and-tube wiring; many 1965-75 houses have aluminum branch circuits. Both can sink your insurance and your financing. Here's where each shows up, what fixes cost, and how it changes your offer.
Full basement, crawlspace, or slab-on-grade? Here's how Vancouver's clay, fill, and high water table affect house foundations, what settlement and water intrusion look like, and what a good inspection should flag before you buy.
Thousands of Vancouver homes built before the late 1950s still have a steel heating-oil tank rusting under the lawn. Here's how a few-hundred-dollar scan protects you from a six-figure cleanup, what the City requires, and how to write your offer when the seller doesn't know.
Vancouver was long considered a low-radon zone in BC, but Health Canada's updated provincial data shows a measurable minority of East Side homes test above the 200 Bq/m³ action level. Here's what buyers should know and what testing actually costs.
Large parts of East Vancouver sit on drained swampland that's still decomposing. Here's where the peat bogs are, what they do to homes, and whether the 10-20% discount is worth the risk.
Vancouver homes come with region-specific risks that generic inspection checklists miss. From leaky condo legacies to buried oil tanks, here's what to watch for before you buy.