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
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.