Beware of hidden home horror stories

How to avoid buyers remorse

If you are buying, selling, investing in, building or even just renting property, you need a home inspection as an essential part of the process to ensure you find out everything you need to about the property before you put your money down.

 

Don’t buy a house of horrors

Houses, flats and other properties can have hidden defects and since many buyers are not experts in building, they can’t really be expected to know how to spot them during their walk through the home on an open-afternoon.

It’s unlikely any potential home-owner would ask to climb into the roof to check if there are tiles missing, or know how to look for underlying sources of damage, tending rather to only look at the obvious problems and repairs that might need doing.

Property is a large investment for anyone to make, and just as you wouldn’t buy a vehicle without having it checked out by a mechanic, having a home inspection done before you set your heart on a property is a very good idea.

 

Stress and sensibilities

Sometimes looking for a home can be so stressful that buyers end up feeling desperate to find the right property and end up engaging in wishful thinking when viewing properties, hoping they will find one that is right for them. This can cause them to convince themselves that little problems even they can see are not really serious which can have big consequences further down the road. Experts recommend that if you have any nagging doubts you explore them thoroughly and bring an expert in.

If you have ideas of buying a home which needs work for a good price and fixing it up, that is all good and well, but without expert advice, you might be buying something that will cost you far more to fix up than your budget allows or that you could recoup in a future sale.

 

Get the experts in

There are a host of experts you can call in for a consultation, many of whom will be happy to do a home inspection and give you a good idea of what problems you might face in the future when taking on a property.

Similarly, if you are renting a home, get a home inspection done to protect yourself and identify any problems that already exist so that when you move you aren’t blamed for a problem that was there when you took up your lease.

 

Know your rights

You have the right as a consumer to call in a builder, electrician and plumber to inspect it so that you can be confident of the integrity of the structure and services before you make any offer on a property. Sellers are compelled to expose any existing faults, but sometimes even they might not be aware of them, so the onus is general put onto the buyer in any property transaction to make sure the building they are investing in is sound before putting down any money.