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The original was posted on /r/lifeprotips by /u/Rsodumb6 on 2025-10-02 15:39:35+00:00.

Most home buyers focus exclusively on the current state of a property during showings and inspections, but you should also research what’s happened to that house over the years.

Things like previous insurance events for water damage, unpermitted renovations, code violations, and past foundation work can all impact your future costs and resale value, but won’t show up in a standard inspection.

This historical information is available in public records, but it’s scattered across different databases and can take hours to research manually. Many buyers (myself included) don’t even know this stuff exists until it’s too late.

Spending a little time or money upfront to research a property’s history can save you thousands in surprise expenses later.