A home inspection is a process where a professional inspector will survey the property and document any defects or issues they find. This is an important step in buying a new home, as it protects both the buyer and seller from surprises that may arise after moving into their new residence. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through what to expect during your condo inspection.
1. Where Will The Inspection Take Place?
First, a professional inspector will perform a walk-through of your condo. You can expect them to check walls, windows, faucets and other common areas of the unit. In some instances, you may be able to provide access to an outside space such as a balcony or patio. If this is the case, your inspector will likely spend extra time on these surfaces looking for defects or problems that need to be repaired/replaced before moving onto another area within the property.
Some buyers choose not to have an inspection unless there are obvious signs that something might be wrong with their new home. However, it’s important that you understand that no property gets checked 100% by an inspector – they aren’t able to go inside every nook and cranny of your property. That said, having an inspection is a great way for buyers to learn more about the condition of the home they’re purchasing and to ensure that everything they see on paper (for example, during a due diligence period) is also reflected in the physical state of the unit they’re buying.
2. How Long Does It Take?
This will vary by property – if there are obvious problems or defects with your condo, they may be addressed during the inspection and cause some delays. If this happens, we recommend you do not go forward with executing your purchase agreement until these problems have been fixed as per the results from the inspection report.
Expect an inspection to take about two hours, give or take depending on the property and your inspector. If you’re in a rush to complete this step of the buying process, we recommend requesting an inspection that begins at 9 AM – most inspections don’t start until later in the day when potential problems could arise with certain types of trades.
3. What Will I Get Out Of It?
The key benefit to having a home inspection is ensuring your new condo unit is sound and safe before moving into it – not only does this protect you, but it also gives you peace of mind knowing everything works as it should from day 1. In addition to an overall state report from the inspector, you’ll be given a detailed list of issues they’ve identified that are either minor or need immediate attention. It’s important for buyers to have this information so they can go back to the seller and ask for certain repairs, replacements or work to be done before they move in – this is typically outlined in their purchase agreement.
4. What Should I Ask My Inspector?
There are three main things you want to cover with your home inspector before moving forward with an offer on your condo:
- What issues do they see with the property that may pose a problem down the line?
- How long will these problems take to be repaired/replaced/fixed?
- How much will it cost me once everything is said and done?
Some of these areas are easy questions to answer if there are obvious issues with your property. For example, if there’s no hot water, the inspector will recommend having the tank looked at before using it to take a shower – simple enough to figure out! However, not all problems are this easy to assess so you may need to ask follow-up questions for more clarification.
5. What Happens After The Inspection?
After the inspection is complete and any issues have been identified, your inspector will compile their findings into a written report which should be given to you shortly after they walk through your condo. It’s important that you review this document in detail and address each of the items listed with the seller directly to ensure repairs are made before closing – this part of your home inspection needs to be taken seriously! You may also need to ask for compensation or a credit towards closing costs if the repairs are extensive.
6. What Happens At The Pre-Closing Walk-Through?
Once your purchase agreement has been executed, you have a due diligence period that typically lasts between 10-14 days where problems can be identified with the property and brought up with the seller before closing. This is an important step in the home buying process so make sure not to rush it – you’ll want to go through every inch of the unit during this time because it’s when any pre-existing damage or issues will be revealed! If work needs to be done, try asking the seller to repaint certain areas or fix appliances (for example) and get them to sign off on it so you don’t have to pay for it yourself.
If the seller is uncooperative or unwilling to address problems, you can ask your real estate lawyer to write up an amendment to your purchase agreement that outlines what needs fixed and by when – they’ll do this at no extra cost to you since it’s included in their service fee. This isn’t something buyers typically want to hear but depending on how easy or hard it is for them to complete the necessary repairs; you may be able to negotiate a lower price (or keep money back) if certain things aren’t completed before closing day.
We hope this information helped make clear why home inspections are incredibly important! If anything was confusing or unclear about condo inspections, contact us for more information.
