5 Common Reasons Why New Homeowners Call a Handyman

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Moving into a new home is supposed to be joyful. Before moving day, you may have pictured yourself spending the next several weeks painting walls, decorating, and breathing a sigh of relief after a grueling buying process. The t’s are crossed, the i’s are dotted, and you can finally chill. Congrats—you’re a homeowner!

But amid all of that excitement, many new homeowners have found unanticipated expenses due to a laundry list of items that need fixing. This is often the case with homes that were purchased as is. But even homes that went through a thorough inspection can be ticking time bombs for unexpected repairs.

We reached out to real estate pros and recent homebuyers to uncover the most common reasons why new owners call a handyman. Read on for what home inspectors might overlook, what kind of fixes they entail, and what to watch out for the next time you’re in the market for a new home.

1. Dryer vents

If a washer and dryer are blocking the vents, home inspectors often skip inspecting them.

“When home inspectors are unable to check dryer vents, it can be a big issue,” says Patty Sakunkoo, a homeowner and real estate investor who has purchased seven homes in California, Nevada, and Texas in the past 11 years.

“After closing, we’ve found that sometimes vents are so clogged, the dryers couldn’t even dry clothes,” she adds. “Plus, those clogs create fire hazards. If the vents are relatively easy to access and straight enough, you can clean them yourself. But you may need to hire a technician.”

Hiring a specialist will run you $50 to $150 per hour, depending on your location.

2. Faulty major appliances

In general, major appliances have a fairly standard shelf life. But even if home inspectors give yours the green light—and you believe they have a few years of life left—proceed with caution.

“Many appliances—especially things like water heaters and gas stoves—can fail with little or no warning, even after passing a home inspection,” says Troy Portillo, director of operations of Studypool. “This is one area where I’ve found that buying a home warranty or extended warranty on key appliances can be a worthwhile investment. If you’re cash-poor after buying a new home, a warranty can be a good hedge against the risks of a catastrophic appliance failure in the short term.”

Depending on the location and size of your home and the cost and age of the appliance, a home warranty or extended appliance warranty will run you anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. But both options are much cheaper than buying a new gas stove or water heater.

3. HVAC breakdown

Maintaining your home’s temperature is essential to comfort. But often, home inspectors simply don’t have the time to assess real issues with your heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system in one short visit. Therefore, you can start to see problems after move-in day.

“The HVAC system, specifically the AC, has been a big issue in almost half of the homes we’ve bought,” says Sakunkoo. “Sometimes, the inspector says the delta of the temperature is not optimal, but they wouldn’t elaborate. Then, sellers argue that it’s because the weather was unusually hot so the AC couldn’t keep up when the inspector happened to be there.”

Sakunkoo says she’s discovered leaks in the system or that the coil or evaporator needed to be replaced after a few months of homeownership.

“Sellers often try to hide AC problems because they’re costly to fix, but hard to prove unless you actually live there,” Sakunkoo says. “And problems with heating system are often difficult to identify in the summer when heaters aren’t operational.”

Even a minor problem in the HVAC system will end up costing several hundred dollars, at a minimum, with the potential to cost thousands.

4. Roof damage

In general, home inspectors are looking for cosmetic damage to a roof, or obvious structural concerns. But that means many issues fall through the cracks that inspectors aren’t trained to detect.

“While inspectors rarely miss major roof damage, they often flag issues in the inspection report by recommending a professional roofer takes a second look at it,” says Eric Waller, owner of Total Roofing Systems, with branches in Dallas and Grand Junction, CO. But because hiring a separate roof inspector will cost a few hundred dollars, many cash-strapped homebuyers ignore the advice.

“Please don’t ignore the warning,” says Waller. “Home inspectors aren’t qualified to assess the true functionality of roof systems, and they look for cosmetic damage like missing shingles and scuffs.”

Waller learned his own lesson the hard way in 2018, when he bought a large home with a damaged ridge section. He ignored the inspector’s red flag and ended up spending $35,000 soon after to replace the roof. The mistake did inspire him to launch Total Roofing Systems, and now he offers proactive roofing assessments to real estate agents.

5. Poor insulation

Insulation is—or should be—everywhere in a home, but because it’s hidden from immediate view, it’s hard to assess its condition. Inspectors often don’t have the tools to truly analyze the soundness of the home’s insulation in one short visit.

“There are many types of insulation hidden behind walls, in attics, and under floors, so it’s difficult to assess all of it,” says Cynthia Cummins, a real estate agent in San Francisco and the owner of Kindred SF Homes. “Poor insulation, such as air gaps between window frames, may not be noticed until the house has been occupied for some time.”

Gaps in insulation can result in higher utility bills and excess energy use. If certain areas of your home are consistently too hot or too cold, you’re going to need to call a handyman, Cummins says.

“Often, they can use infrared cameras to detect temperature fluctuations caused by inadequate insulation, and make repairs to damaged materials safely and securely,” she adds.

Depending on the extent of the damage and your home’s location, the fix will run from several hundred dollars to several thousand.

How to protect yourself

All of these issues may leave you feeling flummoxed and fearful. But you can protect yourself.

“There is a general misunderstanding about how much a home inspector truly knows,” says Denise Supplee, a real estate agent and the founder of SparkRental.com. “A good home inspector knows a little about a lot.”

So what can homebuyers do to make sure they’re not buying a money pit?

“Read all of the contracts thoroughly,” Supplee advises. “Make sure to also pay close attention to any seller’s disclosure. Some states, like Pennsylvania, require them.

“I had a situation myself where a homeowner did not disclose a mold issue,” she adds. “The home inspector missed it. Less than a few weeks of living in the home, the mold started coming through. I contacted a mold inspector. He found that the mold had been there and was painted over. Because they knowingly left out the mold issue in the seller’s disclosure, the sellers had to pay for the remediation.”

Read your contracts, do your homework, and, when in doubt, hedge your bets and spend an extra few hundred dollars on additional inspections from specialists, or invest in extended warranties.

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