Before buying a home, we do a lot of research work like location, size, rates and facilities. Next, we focus on legal documents like possession certificate, encumbrance certificate or home loan, but what we often forget is property inspection. And forgetting property inspection is a mistake we should never make as inspecting the home you are going to purchase is your right and of course, no one wants to feel disappointed after buying a home.
Even when we do not forget inspecting the home, we consider that we can inspect the home ourselves as it is a cheaper option. But hiring a professional building inspector is necessary as inspecting a new home is difficult and a professional building inspector knows where to focus on. But this is not the only mistake we people do regarding property inspection. So, to help you all in this article we will mention 10 property inspection mistakes that you must avoid before buying a home. Here, have a look at the blog!
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Not Having a New Property Inspected
Never ignore inspecting a home before buying. No matter if the property has all the legal work done and passed all the formalities, you must inspect property by hiring a building inspector. So, check if the property is accurate in shape or does not have any problem with the exterior and strength. Don’t blindly trust the builder or the contractor as they are just the brand or have a good reputation in the market and have to maintain it by selling more homes. So, it is better to inspect your home rather than trusting builders.
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Not Hiring a Home Inspector
Many of us ignore the fact that hiring a property inspector is very important. We obviously cannot inspect a home like an inspector can do. A certified professional building inspector can help you in knowing the flaws that were hidden from you by the seller. Thus, hiring a home inspector is important.
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Not researching the inspector
Many home buyers ignore to research the inspector properly, they go with any inspector that is recommended to them. But to check that the inspector who is going to inspect their home is very important. Because the property inspection is only as good as the inspector. And a good inspector can easily analyse the strength’s and weakness of a home and can easily explain it to you.
You should ask the inspector a few questions before hiring him to inspect your home and here we have mentioned a list of questions you should ask:
- How long have you been inspecting homes?
- What are your qualifications, training and certifications? (To check if he is a certified professional building inspector)
- What was your job before you were a home inspector?
- How many inspections have you done till now?
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Not attending the inspection
Not attending the inspection is not at all a good idea, being present at the time of inspection is not mandatory but it is useful and helpful in the near future. Many people think only reading the inspection report can make the work done, but if you have not seen the inspection yourself, you won’t be able to understand it.
Yes, inspection may take an entire morning or afternoon, but setting the time aside, inspecting your house with the building inspector is the best way to learn about the budgets you need to spend in near future. You can ask questions of the inspector and you’ll get to know more about your new home. Even, a good inspector can give you a correct estimate of how much you’ll need to spend on the repairs or upgrades, which is actually very informative.
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Ignoring the Inspector’s Advice
People often ignore the advice given by the inspector just to avoid the expenses. Yes, expenses might be troublesome for your pocket, but it won’t let you be in a big trouble in near future. Because once you have invested in the property, you cannot step back even if you find a big damage or defect that was hidden. So, gather as much information as possible from the inspector.
For example, if there are cracks in the walls or pipes and a special effort is needed to identify them, then an inspector being an expert, can judge the condition of walls and pipes like we cannot, and once the issue is found, we cannot estimate the budget or the way to rectify the issue, here, also the inspector can help us by giving an approximate budget that we have to spend to rectify the issues. And the best part about inspection is that you can get an approximate budget right away from an experienced building inspector and you can reconsider your decision of buying that house or revaluate your budgets.
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Not doing the research yourself
Trusting your home inspector is a good decision, but there are some minor aspects that you have to check yourself, like checking the space in the kitchen, maybe according to your requirement the kitchen is small, but as per inspector, the kitchen is of adequate size. Thus, to inspect your home you need to be present at the inspection and check your home with the inspector. Let inspector do the professional work for your home and meanwhile, you can check the basic requirements yourself.
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Blindly Following Your Inspectors
Do not blindly follow/trust the property inspector that you have hired, even though the inspector is well qualified and trained. Because even an expert can give you ideas on what needs to be rectified and replaced, but he cannot be 100% correct always, as you know your budget and requirements better. So, make sure to keep this thing in mind while negotiating for repairs. And if you are a firm believer of Vastu Shastra for home, then you must discuss Vastu directions and beliefs with the inspector or check it yourself with the best of your knowledge.
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Not asking questions during the property inspection
Many home buyers hesitate to ask questions as they think the building inspector knows more than them. But, if you are hiring a building inspector then there is no issue in asking questions because after all, it is you who will be paying inspector for property inspection and asking questions related to inspection is actually your work during the inspection. Because you should ensure that you are getting the worth of your money that you will spend on buying a home. And by not raising questions, you could end up dealing with some serious structural problems later.
Also, before the inspection make sure to discuss your worries and checklist with the inspector, so that he can inspect the home in the way you want it to be inspected. By this way, the inspector can have a guess on the issues that matter to you more.
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Focus on the exterior
It is very common for a new or first-time home buyer to ignore the exterior conditions of the new home before buying as they consider that all those exterior problems are there only due to the house being a few years old. But, these home buyers surely regret their decision after buying the home and when they start living in it, with time they get to know all the major exterior flaws. The exterior flaws are surely caused by the old age of the house, but it can also be due to the fault in the construction and design of the house. Or even faulty plumbing of water leakage or anything like that can be such a reason for the bad exterior. The leaky plumbing can even lead to the growth of moulds, rotted woods and cracks. So, make sure to never ignore the exterior before buying a home.
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Not creating a to-do list
Each home buyer has their different requirements, guidelines and set of rules, as per which they want to buy their new house. Some people prefer preparing a to-do list for the things they want to discuss with the real estate agent or the building inspector, or the things they want to focus on while inspection, whereas some people do not make a to-do list. But, without any doubt, creating a to-do list is a very important aspect while buying a home. Because you cannot always remember each point and requirement that you are looking for.
A home buyer gets one single opportunity to inspect their new home before the purchase and you must not miss anything important and regret later. You can also get a meeting fixed with your building inspector and discuss or even create a to-do list with him. This way you and your inspector will have a clear idea of where you want to focus and for which conditions you can adjust. So, make sure to create a to-do list before heading for property inspection with the building inspector.
So, these were 10 property inspection mistakes you should avoid before buying a home.
