From our friends at Mortgage Brokernews,

Costly repairs could be awaiting homebuyers as a new survey shows that owners may be missing some important factors when renovating or carrying out maintenance.

Allstate Canada found that 58 per cent of homeowners are planning to do renovation work but 32 per cent of those are looking at cosmetic projects. The insurance firm says they could be ignoring risks.

“Picking out a wallpaper pattern is much more fun than having to remove it after-the-fact, so taking a step back to see if there are risks brewing under the surface and taking care of those first may help avoid a lot of headache and heartache,” says André Parra, Regional Claims Director at Allstate Canada

For buyers, missed damage such as water leaks, roof infiltration and electrical wiring hazards can mean costs and inconvenience for homebuyers.

A quarter of buyers surveyed said they had problems after buying a home with over half facing costs of at least $1,500. Almost a third said they would have gone about their homebuying experience differently if they could do it again.