Guide · Ohio

What should I check before buying an older home in Ohio?

Much of Ohio's starter housing predates 1978. What the lead disclosure rule gives you, which cities make sellers get a point-of-sale inspection, and when a septic check is required.

Short answer

Three things on top of a normal home inspection. Lead paint disclosure on anything built before 1978, with a 10-day window to test. A city point-of-sale inspection in places like Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights. And, outside sewer areas, a septic inspection where the county health district requires one.

The short version

The affordable end of Ohio's market is old. Doubles in Columbus, century homes in Dayton, bungalows in Akron and Parma, colonials in the Cleveland suburbs. The price is right, but the house comes with paperwork and risks a 2015 build doesn't. A good home inspection is the baseline. These are the Ohio-specific checks people miss.

1. Lead paint: your 10-day window

Any home built before 1978 falls under the federal lead disclosure rule, which HUD enforces. Before you're bound by a contract, the seller must:

give you the EPA pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home,"
tell you what they know about lead paint or lead hazards in the home, and hand over any reports they have,
attach a signed Lead Warning Statement to the contract, and
give you 10 days to get a lead paint inspection or risk assessment.

You and the seller can agree in writing to a longer or shorter window, and you can waive it. Our advice: don't waive it on autopilot, especially if a child under 6 will live there or you plan to sand, scrape or replace windows. Peeling paint on porches, windows and doors is where the trouble usually is.

Some local assistance programs check for you. Toledo's Home at Last grant requires a City lead and visual inspection. The City of Lorain's down payment loan requires a City inspection to the federal NSPIRE standard. Those are pass/fail checks for the program, not a full lead assessment for your family.

2. Point-of-sale inspections: the city looks first

A number of Ohio cities, mostly older suburbs around Cleveland, require the seller to get a city inspection before selling. It is not the same as your home inspection. A city inspector checks for code violations, and the city can make someone fix them or set money aside before the deed transfers.

Two examples, from the cities' own pages:

	Cleveland Heights	Shaker Heights
When	Before the seller signs a sale agreement	Application before a contract; the city suggests before listing
Fee (single-family)	$200 ($50 per extra unit)	$200 ($150 condo, $300 two-family)
Good for	1 year from issue	24 months from first inspection, if passed
If violations remain at transfer	Escrow based on average repair cost × 125%, or a signed contractor agreement or rehab loan	Escrow of 150% of the repair estimate; the buyer can assume repairs

In Cleveland Heights, the seller must give you the inspection certificate before you sign. In Shaker Heights, violations have to be fixed within 90 days whether or not the house sells, and a purchase-rehab loan like FHA's 203(k) can stand in for escrow on an owner-occupied home.

What this means for you

Ask for the report up front. It's a free list of problems the city already found.
Know what "assuming violations" costs. If you agree to take over repairs, you fund the escrow. That's cash on top of your down payment, and it is not one of the costs down payment programs advertise covering. Ask the program before you agree.
Don't assume every city has one. Many don't. Ask your agent, or call the city's building department, for the specific town.

3. Septic and wells: it depends on the county

Ohio has no single statewide rule requiring a septic inspection when a home sells. County health districts set their own. Two neighbors show the range:

Stark County has required an inspection before transfer on every property with a household sewage system since January 2008. If sewer service is available, the home has to connect and the old system has to be abandoned. If the home has sat vacant 30 days or more, the buyer can sign a waiver and do the inspection after closing, but then the buyer owns any repairs.
Portage County has no mandatory transfer inspection. Its health district offers one for a fee and strongly recommends checking both the septic and the private well before transfer.

A failed system can mean digging up and replacing it. On a rural purchase, get it inspected even where it's optional. Our rural Ohio and USDA guide covers more on country homes.

4. The house itself

Common issues in Ohio homes built before World War II and in the postwar boom:

Basements. Water, cracked block and old drain tile. Ask about any sump pump and look for staining.
Old wiring. Knob-and-tube or undersized service can make insurance hard to get or expensive.
Sewer laterals. Clay lines and tree roots. A camera scope of the line from the house to the street is cheap compared with a dig-up.
Roofs and furnaces at the end of their life. Get ages in writing.

The appraiser on your loan looks at condition too. On a government-backed loan, the lender may require some safety repairs before it will close, so a long repair list can affect your timeline as well as your budget.

Paying for repairs

OHFA's 3% or 3.5% down payment help goes toward the down payment and closing costs, not repairs. If the house needs work, look at:

A rehab loan such as FHA 203(k), which wraps repairs into the mortgage.
City tax abatements on major rehab in Cleveland and Cincinnati; see our abatement guide.
Seller repairs or credits negotiated after your inspection.

Bottom line

Older Ohio homes are often the best value in reach for a first-time buyer. Use your 10-day lead window, get the point-of-sale report if the city has one, check the septic where there is one, and price out repairs before you commit. Then check your eligibility for down payment help.

Reader questions

Do I have to get a lead inspection on an older home in Ohio?

No, but you have the right to one. For homes built before 1978, the seller must give you 10 days to get a lead inspection or risk assessment unless you agree in writing to change or waive it, per HUD's lead disclosure rule.

What is a point-of-sale inspection in Ohio?

A city inspection some Ohio cities require before a home is sold. Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights both require one. If code violations remain at closing, the city requires repairs or an escrow, and the buyer can sometimes take over the repairs.

Who pays for point-of-sale repairs?

Usually the seller, but buyers can agree to assume them. In Shaker Heights the buyer then funds an escrow of 150% of the repair estimate. That's cash beyond your down payment, so get it priced first.

Is a septic inspection required when buying a home in Ohio?

It depends on the county. Stark County has required one before transfer since 2008. Portage County doesn't require it but recommends it.

Free printable: the Ohio homebuyer paperwork checklist. Papers, steps, programs and lender questions in two printed pages. Get the sheet