When buying a home, it’s never just one or two distinct features of a home that makes a buyer realise they’ve found “the one”. Many are simply just overcome with a feeling of certainty; they “just know”. However, while the look, size, rooms, location, proximities and community might all be perfect, you could very well be blindsided by costly aspects to your “perfect” home that you never saw coming!
Unless you’re a builder, many potential defects to a home can slip right past you until months or years later when they become a much larger problem. Most of these are structural defects, but they can also extend to things like pests or general safety hazard. That’s why before closing the deal on any home purchase, buyers are opting for a building inspection to make sure all their bases are covered.
A building inspection is ideally undertaken by someone with builder’s qualifications. On top of reporting on the general overall condition of the property, as mentioned, they will notify the potential buyer of both major issues that immediately compromise the integrity of the structure, and minor issues than can be rectified before doing more damage. Various types of damage can also come under both categories depending on severity. For example, a small crack in a wall can be easily repaired. However, further action would have to be taken if the crack was wider and affected aspects of the home such a doorframes, load-bearing beams or exposure to the elements. Certain inspection companies may also assign another inspector for more specialised aspects of the job. This is usually somebody qualified in pest control, as pest-related issues can often fall outside the experience of a builder.
Within 24 hours or even at the time of inspection, the client is then provided with a detailed report covering all areas of the property. The clients can then make an educated decision based off the report, if the defects and hazards can be easily fixed, or the property simply isn’t worth paying the desired amount for given the extra work that needs to be done. It’s easy to see from this process why it always pays to admit that you may not know it all! A building inspection could very well be the difference between making a sound investment or suffering a heavy loss down the track.