We are in the era of homes being staged for sale. This is so they look their best for the buyer and it is easy to fall in love at an inspection. You walk into a house that just happens to be presented exactly as you have always dreamed and boom you are sold. However, if you are truly serious about buying this property you need to make some simple checks yourself.
It is this simple open for inspection checklist that can save you a lot of money in the future.
Check the following:
- Check the walls for signs of moisture.
- Check near showers and baths and their adjoining walls.
- Look inside the cabinets of the bathroom and kitchen for damp mould or mildew.
- Look over the bathrooms and bedrooms for mould and ask if it was recently cleaned or painted as this can disguise issues further.
- Check the walls for any large cracks, more than 2mm in width can be a major issue and should be checked further.
- Look for map cracking (looks like the lines of a map) on plaster as this may cause the plaster to come loose when you attempt to hang a fixture.
- Look over the ceiling for any sagging spots.
- View the roof lines from outside – are they nice and straight or are they dipping, if they are dipping this may be a costly repair.
- What do the gutters look like – Any rust or corrosion will need repair.
- Where do your downpipes run to – it should always run to the stormwater drains and not just the ground.
- Look around the property for any signs of previous flooding or water issues.
All these checks are fairly simple to do yourself. If you are happy you should then get a professional to asses the property and provide you with a report so you can have peace of mind with your purchase.
Make sure you contact Select Conveyancing to look after the contracts for your new property.