Question: My wife and I are in escrow to buy our first house and are very excited at the prospect of finally being homeowners in Santa Barbara.

The house was built in 1961 and, even though it is overall in good condition, it seems to be pretty much original in construction, fixtures, etc. with the exception of a new roof.

We have had an inspection by a professional home inspection service, and a lot of little things were cited in his report, like termite damage in the eaves, GFI electrical outlets needed in the kitchen and bathrooms, the furnace needs to be inspected, and so forth.

We are going to be pretty tapped out financially just to close escrow and don’t want to be surprised with any big, unexpected repair bills.

Any advice you could give about what to look out for would be very much appreciated.

Your Handyman: Congratulations on your new home, and good for you that you are giving the house a thorough looking over before the escrow closes.

Santa Barbara real estate seems to be a rock-solid investment, and I personally continue to be amazed at how prices keep going up year after year with no end in sight.

There seems to be no shortage of people wanting to live in our little slice of paradise here between the Pacific Ocean and the coastal mountains.

Unless you are very experienced in construction, it is always a good idea to make your home purchase contingent on your approval of a professional home inspection.

It is the job of the paid inspector to find and document any potential defects or damages with the house that might require the buyer to incur an expense to repair.

However, I have yet to see a home inspection report that includes a visual inspection of the drain lines under the foundation of the house.

A house that was built prior to 1970 more than likely has cast iron drain pipes under the foundation that provide drainage for the toilets, showers, laundry, tubs and sinks.

If it is a two-story home, then the cast iron pipes continue up through the walls to the second-story bathrooms.

Houses built after 1970 will usually have drainpipes made from a hard black plastic called ABS, which in case you are wondering stands for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. If installed properly, they will probably last for eons.

The problem with cast iron drain pipes is that they rust. It is not uncommon to cut through an old 2-inch outside diameter cast iron drain pipe and there is so much corrosion and mineral crude inside that you can barely insert your little finger.

So, what this means to you in your home purchase is that the cast iron pipes under your foundation are 60-plus years old (like many of us), are with certainty rusted to some degree, and at some time in the not-too-distant future, will have to be replaced.

If your home is on a concrete slab, replacing these pipes could involve cutting many openings into the foundation inside your home through your tile and hardwood floors, possibly removing cabinets and bath fixtures, digging into the soil under the house and installing new ABS drainpipes.

If this sounds like a big mess, you’re right. It is one big mess of a job.

My suggestion to anyone purchasing a home built prior to 1970 is to consult with a master plumber who can confirm that your drain pipes are cast iron and then will run a video scope down through the pipes to inspect their condition.

If he finds standing water in the pipes, blockages from corrosion or collapsed sections, then you will want his estimate to replace the pipes factored into your purchase price, plus the cost of putting your floors, walls, showers and cabinets back together.

This inspection is not to be confused with the inspection of the lateral sewer line that runs from the outside perimeter of your house to the sanitary district pipe running down the center of your street.

That is a whole different subject, but easier to inspect and typically much less costly to replace.