Should I Get a Pre-Purchase Inspection?
The answer to this question is a resounding yes, you should get a pre-purchase inspection. Buying property is a big financial decision that should be made with caution. In addition to the high cost of purchase, the process of buying a property has several challenges.
For most buyers, the biggest challenge is ensuring that the property they purchase is not faulty, unsafe, or substandard due to poor maintenance or construction. For example, buying a building that is weak and has cracks is weak means exposing yourself to risks that can lead to serious injury or even death. Worse still, buying such buildings means that you have to incur additional costs to repair them.
Conducting a pre-purchase inspection can help you navigate such challenges by identifying defects early. A pre-purchase inspection is an evaluation of the property before the buyer commits. It helps to establish the condition of the property, ensuring that the buyer does not receive any unpleasant surprises after purchasing the property. There are several ways that a pre-purchase property inspection helps buyers. These include:
Enable buyers to make informed decisions
A pre-purchase property inspection allows buyers to determine if a property is worth buying. When you do a pre-purchase inspection, you get a written report. The report informs you of all areas that have damage and the extent of that damage. You can also learn the cost and time it will take to repair those damages. This allows you to compare the cost of buying the property’s price to that of restoring it to usable condition. With that information, you can decide whether you want to proceed with the purchase or search for an alternative in the market.
Give buyers leverage to negotiate
Property sellers want to maximize their profits and they know what attracts buyers to a property – this is what a property looks like. On the other hand, as a buyer, your goal is to get value for your money. To meet their goal, property sellers tend to cut corners to attract buyers by doing minor renovations like painting and repairing visible damage to a property.
This allows them to quote high sales prices. Making a property attractive to the eyes does not necessarily mean that its condition is 100% good. A pre-purchase inspection helps reveal the true condition of a property, matching its cost to its benefits. If the cost of a property appears to be higher than the benefits it offers you, a pre-purchase inspection report allows you to take advantage of a price renegotiation with the seller.
Risk reduction for property buyers
The decision to conduct a pre-purchase inspection rests entirely with the buyer. If you choose not to inspect, you will save some money in the short term, but that decision could cost you a lot for years to come. A pre-purchase inspection reduces this risk significantly by ensuring that the property you purchase is safe and that you are knowledgeable and prepared for repairs.
Having a pre-purchase inspection also ensures that you are not surprised and allows you to factor the cost of repairs in price negotiations. If you buy a building without inspecting it, you risk damage due to the high cost of repairs.
Improve buyer confidence in buying a property
When you are buying a property, you want value for that investment. This makes you question what you want to buy and until you get answers to the questions you have, you will have doubts about the property. This slows you down because you are not satisfied with the information you have about a property.
A pre-purchase inspection report takes care of this problem and gives you all the answers you need about a property. It lets you know what you are buying so you can approve or disapprove of it. When you have detailed information about the property you want to buy, you are sure to close the purchase deal.
Types of pre-purchase inspections
There are two types of pre-purchase inspections: a building inspection and a pest inspection. Building inspections deal with structural defects, while pest inspections check to see if a property has a pest infestation. When buying a property, it is advisable to do both.
Since these inspections will cost you money, you need to ensure that you are getting the most value by hiring an expert. Give your Newcastle building inspection an early notice. The inspection process is pretty quick and you can get a report in just 2 days, or in some cases within 24 hours if you hire a really good inspection company. In most cases, property sellers want to recommend an inspection company. If this happens, consider declining your offer because there will be a conflict of interest. Find an independent pre-purchase inspection company to get a report that represents the actual condition of the property. Also, find out what building inspection costs cover.
Ideally, the inspection company should provide you with a checklist, but if they don’t, ask them to do so.
You may also be interested on reading: What is home automation and how does it work?
