The Importance of a Building Inspection before Buying a Home

It’s easy to go in all guns blazing when you think you’ve found your dream home and start working on making an offer to secure the property. However, it might be worth having a professional who isn’t personally invested in the deal going through to take a closer look at the building, so you can be sure that you are avoiding problems down the line and won’t need to invest in costly repairs that should have been the seller’s responsibility.

What are Building Inspectors?

Building inspectors are professional builders, surveyors or architects who will provide you with a standard property report. They follow specific guidelines and know exactly what to look for and how it may impact your future property. For instance, they can tell you if your plan to build a second story is feasible, or if there are any creepy-crawlies hiding under the new floorboards. There are many reasons to get a professional review of the property before signing on the dotted line, but the biggest reasons include:

Building Inspectors are detached from the property

When you first look at a property, it’s only natural to get carried away thinking about which room will be the study and whether the kitchen cupboards need a modern overhaul. A building inspector understands those little details that can easily escape the untrained eye. Has a good paint job covered up rising damp? Is the ceiling buckling under pressure? Are the waterworks flowing as they should? Is there movement in the walls resulting in cracking? These are all issues that can be overlooked in a standard walk-through, but they can make all the difference when you’re looking at making one of the biggest financial investments of your life.

They can help you plan for future costs

While not everything picked up in a building inspection will necessarily require a fix, the report can highlight significant repairs or costs that may be required in the future and may impact your decision to purchase the property. If you know you’re going to have to get the entire house restumped in a couple of years, or that the energy rating may triple your electricity bills, you can plan for these costs and perhaps take them into account when working out how much money you need to borrow.

You can be in a better position to negotiate

One of the often-overlooked advantages of a building inspection report is that it could potentially increase your negotiating power during a private sale. By understanding what structural issues the house has and being able to back it up with a formal report, your position of power at the negotiating table will be well-grounded, potentially saving you thousands of dollars.

Armed with this knowledge after reading your report, you can make an informed decision about whether you want to purchase your new home, negotiate a better price for the property or look for something more suitable.

While a building inspection deals with many aspects of the property, make sure you understand exactly what is included in the report before paying for the service by contacting a qualified and licensed home inspector in your local area.

Once your home inspector uncovers a potential issue, making a decision is easy. But when it comes to property inspections, it’s what you don’t find that comes back to haunt you.

Just like homes, no two property inspectors are alike. Protect your savings, your family, and your future investment by only working with experienced, detail-oriented property inspectors like those at Inform Building Permits.

4 thoughts on “The Importance of a Building Inspection before Buying a Home

  1. I like that you mentioned that a home inspection professional has a degree of neutrality when it comes to a home deal. I can see how that will be a good way to weigh out that pros and cons of buying a certain house. Personally, I’d just prefer if I have a house that wouldn’t need too much maintenance so that I could focus more on my work and my hobbies and not allot of time doing chores.

  2. I appreciated it when you shared that it is best to protect your savings and your future investment by working with experienced, detail-oriented property inspectors. In this way, you can ensure that your property will be properly inspected for any issues. I would like to think if a company needs to get building approval, it should consider working with a reliable service that can help conduct the necessary inspection.

  3. I found it interesting when you said that inspection can affect your decisions. My best friend mentioned to me last night that he is planning to sell their home and asked me if I have any idea what is the best option to do as he wants it to have an inspection first. Thanks to this informative article and I’ll be sure to tell him that he can consult a building inspection service as they can answer all his inquiries.

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