What to Look For When It Comes to Property Inspections

We’re sure you’ve heard the saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover” before, and the phrase truly applies to buying property. There’s nothing worse than having saved up for that dream home, only to find upon moving in that it’s an absolute nightmare, having to fork over an additional fortune for maintenance and repair works on top of your mortgage. And the same applies to renting as well — you may not be stuck at your new home forever, but if you’re renting at an unsatisfactory property you’ll still have to deal with the less than ideal conditions of your rental property until your lease ends. In the excitement of seeing a property for the first time, it can be understandably easy to be distracted by grand architectural designs and trendy new features, leading to you overlooking flaws and faults of the house or apartment that you’re inspecting. Make sure you don’t end up feeling major buyer’s remorse after moving into your new property and follow our checklist of things to remember to do at property inspections. Check the windows It can be a chore, but make sure that all windows are opening and closing properly during the inspection. Depending on whether they’re wooden or metal the frames may have warped or rusted — something which is not immediately obvious if paint jobs have been carried out recently. You can also see if wooden frames are going to rot by pressing it with your finger to see if it’s soft. Look out for mould Particularly in bathrooms but also in other rooms around the house, if you spy a mould problem that is generally a sign that there’s a problem with ventilation. Alongside having to re-grout and repaint, fixing the problem could cost a significant amount of money that you’re unwilling to part ways with. Power points in all the right places Power points can always be added, but it’s a costly and time-consuming process to do so. Check to see if the rooms have sufficient power points for your needs, and think about how your things will be arranged. Termites and other pests The last thing you want is to spend your first night at the new property with a bunch of unwanted guests. Things to look out for include sagging floors and hollow-sounding walls. Otherwise, if you leave your termite problem unchecked you may end up with no new home at all!