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Doverai, no proverai - Trust, but verify [ME]

Hello there!

I've been a homeowner since 2010. This was my first home, but the time has come to move on and I'm actively looking in Maine. First though, some background to illustrate my choice of title.

I bought this house at the age of 20 and had no one to model my behavior off of in the buying process, so I didn't really know what I was doing or what questions I should have been asking. Because of that, I had a really bad buying experience after my wife and I moved into the home and discovered the various....quirks it has.

Basement floods when the seller said it didn't. House has..horse hair wiring insulation and knob & tube, mix of very old and new windows, etc. Thankfully this was a cheap lesson for us to learn, as we only paid $50k with 0% down. And learn it we did -- we will never again trust a Realtor or seller.

That brings me to my question. If you were of my opinion, ie never trusting a Realtor or seller, how would you go about double checking everything they said or advised?

One thing I learned is to hire your own inspector, and not depend on anyone the realtor knows or recommends. Another I've read here is to get the various contracting specialties to look at their area of expertise in your prospective house -- eg, have an electrician look at the electric, a plumber look at the plumbing, and so on, rather than relying on a home inspector to see and understand everything.

Any further advice appreciated.

Thanks!

submitted by /u/mainemain123123
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/dax0in/doverai_no_proverai_trust_but_verify_me/
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