My plumber said something during our inspection that made me rethink everything

He was checking the pipes in the basement of the house we were under contract for in Akron, and he just casually said, 'You know, the water heater is from 2009.' I mean, I knew to look at the roof and furnace age, but that one detail made me realize how many hidden costs there are. Anyone else get blindsided by an appliance's age they didn't think to check?

3 comments

3 Comments

xenam8410d ago

Totally get that, it's like a hidden timer starts ticking in your head. @craig.parker is right about the AC, ours was from 2001 and died the first real heatwave. The real kicker for us was the ancient septic tank the inspector found, that was a whole new level of expensive surprise.

craig.parker10d ago

Oh man, that's the worst feeling... like a gut punch. My inspector pointed out the AC unit was from the last century, no joke. It was chugging along just fine during the walk-through, but that date stamp meant a five-grand bill was just waiting to happen. You start adding up the water heater, the fridge, the dishwasher... it's death by a thousand cuts. That's the real hidden cost of a house, all the ticking time bombs you don't see.

anthony_jackson3110d ago

But what if that old stuff is actually more reliable? Newer appliances seem to break way faster. Maybe that ancient AC is a tank.