If you’re planning to rent out your home, you need to make sure you’re keeping it safe. This is especially true if you’re not going through a rental agency and are instead doing it through an online source or entirely on your own. If you rent an unsafe home, you could have liability for any accidents that occur on the premises. This home health checklist will help you check for issues with your home’s health before you start to rent.
Home Health Checklist Created By: JES
Structural Health
Your home’s foundation is one of the most important things to pay attention to when it comes to home health. If there are foundation problems, they’re only going to get worse over time. Here are some of the main symptoms you may notice that could indicate structural health concerns:
- Nail Pops
- Wall Gaps
- Floor Gaps
- Uneven Floors
- Drywall Cracks
- Sticking Doors and Windows
- Bowed Walls, Especially in the Basement
- Chimney Cracking
- Sinking Foundation
- Vertical, Horizontal, or Stair-Step Cracks
- Cracked Bricks
- Cracked Block Foundation
- Cracks in Concrete
The structural health of a home has an impact on every other element of the home. If you leave structural health problems for too long, you can end up with serious concerns. Plus, if you hope to sell your home one day, it’s a good idea to maintain the structural integrity. You could lose up to 30% of your home’s value if you have serious structural problems.
Basement Health
Many homes have basements, which lie under the surface and therefore often have structural concerns due to the pressure of dirt and underground water. Here are a few of the most prominent symptoms of basement health problems:
- Poor Drainage
- Musty Smell
- Leaking Water Heater
- Leaking Windows
- Leaking in Basement Cove
- Sump Pump Issues
- Swelling or Warped Doors
- Water Stains
- Efflorescence
- Wet Walls
- Wet Floors
- Wet Carpet
- Wet Drywall
- Condensation on Windows or Doors
Many of these problems have to do with moisture, which makes sense because basements typically have a lot of water surrounding them. However, if you don’t have a strong basement waterproofing setup, that water can simply build up in the basement and cause mold or mildew. That can in turn cause allergies and asthma worsening for residents, which you might be liable for if they’re renters.
Crawl Space Health
Even homes that don’t have a basement typically have a crawl space. Managing your home’s crawl space health is just as important as managing the basement health. Many crawl spaces, especially encapsulated crawl spaces, tend to accumulate bug problems and moisture concerns. These are some of the symptoms of crawl space problems you may notice:
- Standing Water
- Floor Joist Problems
- Wood Rot
- Condensation
- Wet Insulation
- Foundation Cracks
- Open Crawl Space Vents
- High General Indoor Humidity
- Sagging Floors
- Mold
- Unpleasant Odors
- Poor Air Quality
- Rodent or Bug Issues
- High Electric Bills
Crawl spaces can be healthy, but you need to make sure you’re putting in the work to ensure their health. You likely don’t think about it, but crawl spaces share a lot of their air with the rest of the home. If you have healthy air in the crawl space, you’ll probably have healthy air in the rest of the home, but the reverse is also true.
Conclusion
Not every home with these problems will have all of these symptoms. However, it’s common to have at least a few of these symptoms for any of these home structural health concerns. Because it’s so important to make sure your home is safe before you rent it out, it’s a good idea to have an expert come in and check it out. Additionally, it’s a good idea to take any of these symptoms very seriously if your renter reports them to you.
