At Investors Edge, our buyer’s agents know how important the building inspection is to the buying process. They also know how to use a building inspection to gain an extra discount when purchasing a property.
Protection
A building and pest inspection conducted by a competent inspector is a must. It only costs around $700 to $800 and finds potential problems that sellers may not even be aware of in Perth or WA. A termite infestation can cost thousands of dollars and even render your entire building unusable; hidden structural damage can do the same.
While building inspections usually don’t find catastrophic damage, they can also uncover lesser damage that can escalate into thousands of dollars to fix later if not taken care of now. Even a “small” problem can cost thousands of dollars to repair.
Negotiation
One of the more valuable uses of a building inspection is as a negotiation tool. At the very least, we recommend that you include as many items as possible be in working order as a special condition of sale. This can include at the very minimum all gas, plumbing and electrical items. I also suggest that you include a special condition for maintenance to be to your satisfaction, requiring the owner to rectify or giving you the option to terminate.
This not only protects the buyer but allows a lot more room for negotiation should any unknown maintenance items be discovered.
Leveraging Your Position
It is important to choose a building inspector who is very thorough. After you get your report, call the inspector with questions as soon as possible, while the inspection is still in his or her mind. Ask questions concerning the property’s overall condition, if anything is missing and if there are any concerns not written in the report. I suggest you should then speak to the relevant trade person or a builder to establish the likely cost to fix and repair these items.
Virtually every report will show up unkown maintenance items and why should you have to stomach the cost for them. If you had known about them you would have offered less! Once you have a cost estimate put in a call to the seller’s agent and request that the items be fixed, if the seller is not willing to fix them, request a discount on the purchase price.
Significant Damage
If you are planning to renovate a property, damage such as structural damage caused by termites can give you a reason to ask for a significant discount. However make sure you consult tradesman to obtain written quotations because the cost can blow out substantially, quickly exceeding any discount you may obtain.
Call Investors Edge to learn more: 1300 472 427.
