If you’re thinking of investing in real estate or buying a property for your own use, you should definitely have the property inspected before buying it. These are known as pre-purchase property inspections.
The purpose of these inspections is to have the property evaluated properly by a qualified building inspector who can give you a detailed inspection report explaining the defects and issues with the property. This article will explain what pre-purchase property inspections are, what they do, and the possible problems that can arise when you have a property inspected.
What are property inspections?
A building inspector or home inspector is a qualified professional who will inspect your property, evaluate all of the systems and specific areas according to a detailed checklist and highlight issues and defects and give you a detailed pre-purchase property inspection report detailing all of the findings of the inspection. While you will probably go over your property thoroughly yourself, the property inspections report will give you many details you would never notice yourself because the property inspector is trained and knowledgeable in this area and has specialized equipment.
Potential problems with property inspections reports:
While the property inspections are very detailed, there may be parts of the property that aren’t or can’t be inspected. If you have caves or waterfalls on your property, for instance, they can’ be inspected. If you do not hire a property inspector for terminate inspection, it won’t be done, so be careful to have this done. Chimneys, fireplaces, alarms and your electric wiring are not included in property inspections, and estimated repair costs are not included in the property inspection report from your home inspector. You will have to get estimates from your chosen repair service providers. Also, weather can prevent some defects like leaks and rising damp from being checked. There may be some additional property inspections that can be added for a minor fee, so ask about this.
The issue with vendor property inspections:
Many sellers will get property inspections to advertise the home to potential buyers, but you should take these inspections with a grain of salt. These are not independent property inspections, which is what matters to you. The inspection may be accurate, or it may not. For your purchases, you want your own inspection report from a home inspector you have hired.
Pre-purchase property inspection reports can be considered insurance. When you have a property inspected by a qualified building inspector, you’re going to save money on the property up-front, you’re going to avoid buying a property with dangerous conditions, and you’re going to avoid buying a property with expensive defects. However, they are not a lawful document and you cannot complain about errors or omissions in the inspection, so make sure that you choose a reputable property inspector.
The most important thing is to make sure you understand your property inspections report and use it to negotiate the best deal on your property to be able to pay for the repairs that are necessary on the property. Just remember that the team at Safe and Sound Property Inspection is based in Melbourne and want to ensure that you get the best money for value and we always see potential buyers being persuaded into purchasing properties because they got a real estate agents inspector and just didn’t understand what their house required. So, we are trying to ensure that the building inspector you choose does not take you down this path and provide you with a false report.
