The house I want to buy smells damp. Should I ask someone to carry out a full home inspection before I commit to the purchase?
Buying a property, whether for residential or business purposes, is a huge financial venture, and it makes sense to put your money into a building which is solid and as problem-free as possible. Unfortunately, there are sellers who are not as upfront and honest as they would initially appear, and may well be hiding existing or potential structural problems with cosmetic repairs which will eventually come back to haunt the purchaser. It is always wise to conduct a full inspection of a property and there are specialists who will undertake this job for you and give you much needed peace of mind before you sink your money into bricks and mortar.
Is it really worth the money to pay for a professional home inspection?
It is entirely your choice whether you hire professionals to appraise the property you want to buy, but it is definitely a safer option. I recently heard of a couple who bought a house without going through any professional pre-inspection of the property. They were under pressure from the seller to buy, which is already a danger signal to my mind, and made their decision based on their own visual inspection of the property. After living in the house for a couple of months, covert problems which had obviously been in existence for some time began to surface. Such problems included rising damp which had simply been painted over, boundary walls which were crumbling and posed a danger of collapsing, leaks in the roofing tiles which showed up on the interior ceilings after heavy rains, drains which were clogged and sluggish, a plumbing system which rattled and shook the house when certain taps were turned on and off, and other aggravating problems which became apparent as time passed. Although they approached the seller and confronted him with these problems, there was very little they could do in the aftermath of the sale, and the seller was determined to deny liability for any of the problems, nor for the fact that he had not pointed out such problems to them. The costs of pursuing the seller in court were prohibitive and would only have added to the costs of repairing such faults.
Put your mind at ease BEFORE you sign on that dotted line!
One of the biggest advantages of obtaining a pre-purchase construction report is that it gives both parties – especially the buyer – the power of negotiation. With the backing of a professional inspection report, the buyer is in a stronger and informed position when it comes to settling on a final price for the property. If subsequent negotiations fail and agreement cannot be reached if any problems are discovered, the buyer is in a stronger position to decide whether to proceed with the purchase or to back out of the sale. For this reason alone, pre-purchase inspections offer a form of guarantee to both parties, especially to the buyer. The seller will also be assured that there will be no later come-back from the buyer claiming faults and problems which were not in existence at the time of the sale.
How do I find the right home inspection service?
Check their online ratings and customer reviews
As is becoming the norm, home inspection specialist services may now be found by searching online, especially with the aid of search sites such as Uptasker. Uptasker has the definite advantage over many other search sites in that suppliers are listed according to geographical location, which saves time and frustration. In addition, Uptasker provides online rating and customer reviews which are extremely useful when choosing which suppliers to approach. Uptasker also gives you the opportunity to compare quotes from different suppliers from one point, as well as a very useful ‘one-click link’ to suppliers’ websites, where available. You will also find adverts for home inspection services in house and home magazines, architectural digests, newspapers, upmarket flyers and even through contact with renovation and building companies, as well as the Yellow Pages. One can also use word of mouth referrals, which can never be under-estimated in any search.
