Buying a home is an important and exciting process in your life. Making the right choice could help you by growing your initial investment and giving you a property that you can love and care for.

There are many aspects of buying a home that you have to consider, but one of the important things for you to consider is a home checklist. Having a checklist allows you to evaluate each home you view for structural problems, water damage and other issues that will tell you if the home is worth your investment.

In your evaluation, there are a few things to look for. Some include:

• Signs of structural issues such as having trouble opening the windows or damage to the interior walls
• Signs of water damage, like flooding or mildew
• Trouble from interior environmental hazards such as asbestos coating on pipes or signs of infestations
• Trouble with plumbing, such as drains draining slowly or poor temperature controls on the water heater
• Electrical issues such as sockets that have not been upgraded for grounded plugs

Essentially, you want to look for any and all potential structural damage, hazards and problems that could make you change your offer on the home or avoid making an offer in the first place.

If you do decide to move forward with an offer, make sure you discuss your offer with your real estate attorney and look at the contract carefully. You want to be protected and to have the right to walk away from the purchase if you are not satisfied with the home’s inspection in the future.