Should you get a building inspection? One important thing to remember when buying a property is that the agent is working for the seller not the buyer. In many cases having a building inspection on a contract complicates an offer and makes it less attractive to a seller. So when is it in your interests to get one and when would it be probably better to not?
Many first home buyers make the mistake of insisting on a building inspection ( because dad said I must have one…) when a simple look at a property could usually determine any major problems. When there are competing offers at roughly the same price then the less complicated one often goes ahead.
If you must have a building inspection you should know that it is not up to the real estate agent to offer this to you. If you want it, it must be written into the contract, usually in the form of an annexure. There are many cases where buyers automatically assume that they are entitled to a building inspection only to be denied one because they failed to write it into the contract.
When deciding whether to get a building inspection or not, common sense is a valuable asset. If a building is old and likely to be demolished in the next year or two and it is the land you are essentially buying then chances are that a building inspection would find issues and the owner would likely look unfavorably on your offer. There are also modern buildings and strata units where getting a building inspection would very likely be money down the drain better spent on reducing your mortgage.
In essence, if you are at all concerned about the structure of a property then get an inspection done and insist on it being written into the contract but if there is little reason for concern then why waste your money and risk making your offer complicated for the seller and either having to pay more or miss out when you really didn’t need to?
If you are looking to sell your property or require property management services please call 08 9277 3555
Media contact: Andrew Huggins 0413231303
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