Property inspections are fast becoming a standard part of the process for many people looking to buy an established home or investment property. The phrase ‘purchase subject to property inspection’ is no longer the exception but the rule; a condition that many home buyers are placing before any purchase is made official. On the other side of the coin, property sellers are having independent property inspections conducted so they can discover what needs to be fixed before they can sell their property. In the interests of being comprehensively armed with knowledge, here is some information about what potential home buyers need to know about property inspections.

What Does a Property Inspection Involve?

Property inspections aim to give potential buyers an expert, comprehensive appraisal of the condition of a building. When you use a fully independent service provider like Casey Building Inspections, the latest technology and assessment processes are used to evaluate a variety of areas, including:

• Structural issues
• Moisture levels
• Maintenance defects
• The presence of wood destroying insects
• Fungal decay
• And more

Property inspections take in the interior and exterior of a building, as well as the structural elements and the surrounding grounds to ensure that issues of drainage and erosion among other points of consideration have been taken into account.

What Happens Once the Inspection Has Been Completed?

Upon completion of the property inspection, the assessor will compile a detailed report that lists any problems they have discovered during the inspection process. This report will outline any significant defects in the building, any points of concern such as rising damp, and many other pertinent issues.

Once the property inspection has been completed, the potential buyers will have full awareness of the condition of their potential new home or investment property. If the inspection passes with a clean bill of health, the purchase can proceed as usual. If there are issues, though, the potential buyers may be able to use the details of the report to negotiate a lower price for the property – especially if funding any repairs leaves the new owners significantly out of pocket. The other course of action the potential buyers can take once they’ve received the results of the property inspection is to pull out of the sale completely.

What Do Property Inspections Not Cover?

There are some areas that property inspections typically do not cover. It’s important to keep in mind that the report will detail the major problems found on the property, but it may not cover areas of the property that the assessor was unable to access. It won’t include areas that might be outside the realm of the expert’s knowledge, and it also won’t cover minor defects or termite infestation (a pest inspection, however, will take care of the latter).

Arrange a Property Inspection Today

Property inspections are there to protect the buyer from putting their money into a poor home or investment property. They’re one of the most important things you can organise prior to signing on the dotted line. Casey Building Inspections is a certified and accredited provider of independent property inspections in Melbourne. Call on us before you make one of the biggest decisions of your life.