New house becomes 'disaster' for Ontario couple who skipped home inspection
An Ontario couple says they discovered a "disaster" soon after moving into their new house, which they bought without a home inspection: Mushrooms growing in the kitchen, shingle debris raining off the roof and a toilet sinking into rotting foundation.
Meaghan Darrach and her husband bought their house just north of Grafton, Ont., last August for just over $500,000 with no conditions.
“We were up against two other bids,” Darrach said. At the time, the market was “madness,” and she said they had already looked at about 20 other houses. This was the third they put an offer on.
“Everyone was bidding so far over [asking] and houses were staying on the market for two days. If you wanted it, you had to jump on it now,” she said.
After viewing their current house, that’s what they did.
The single-family home has four bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, an attached garage and a yard slotted on just under half an acre of land.
It was just what Darrach, 28, and her husband, 30, needed for their growing family of three with a baby on the way.
“We really wanted that specific house,” she said.
They knew it would “need some love,” since Darrach said it was built around 1987, but they didn’t anticipate the “construction zone” they would live in for over a year and counting.
First, it was the kitchen floor, which they ripped out after a dishwasher leak. Then, the drywall started splitting at the corners and the foundation began rotting. “That was the start of it,” she said.
Darrach said she has no idea how long it's going to take to fix the entire house or how much it is going to cost them.
But even so, she said they would “do it all again” for the price they paid.
Leigh Gate, president of the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors, said over the past year and a half, the strong competition among buyers in the real estate market has compelled many to take the same route as this Ontario couple.
“To make an offer more attractive, the buyer would leave out as many conditions as possible,” he said.
The cost of a home inspection varies across the province based on the location and size of the house, but Gate said it typically costs between $450 to $650.
“The number one goal is the buyers know what they are buying,” he said. As the housing market shows signs of cooling, Gate said, buyers are “very slowly” starting to gravitate back to home inspections.
As a Toronto real estate broker, Davelle Morrison said she always encourages clients to conduct home inspections before they make an offer, but the challenge can come after a couple of viewings.
“After they spend that $600 on a couple houses, they don't want to spend any more,” she said.
Even with a home inspection, she said many houses in the province were built more than 100 years ago and have histories that no one can uncover.
“I think the challenge is people are not buying a box of Lego with a set of instructions,” Morrison said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.