Make sure you conduct a pre-settlement inspection!

I'm still surprised at the no. of buyers I speak to who aren't thorough enough with their PSI's and end up complaining after settlement- often when it's too late to get anything done about the issues that have arisen.

Every residential property purchaser is entitled to carry out a final inspection prior to settlement. It's usually conducted in the 24-48 hr period prior to settlement, in order to ensure that the product inspected is the same as it was when the buyer agreed to purchase (or contract period).

This entails the buyer (or their advocate) ensuring all inclusions are still in place as per the ticked boxes on the front page of the contract, inspecting the dwelling and land for any unwanted chattels and checking that all electrical/gas appliances etc are in the same state as they were at contract time. In some cases, this may mean that not everything is working, but as long as the purchaser was aware of this at contract time then there should be no problems.

Over the years I've both encountered personally and heard of several sad stories where the buyer was diddled out of rightful inclusions, left with various messes to clean up (including asbestos and concrete blocks in a shed) lied to about various electrical appliances being in working order (always test them folks!) and replacements of expensive fittings being made between contract date and PSI time (eg light fittings, curtains, even a toilet seat!)

It's tempting to become so anxious to settle into the home that PSI's are rushed through and not really conducted thoroughly. It's really worth taking the extra time to do things properly here, as it can both cost you financially and leave a bitter taste in your mouth about the entire buying process.

 

Good idea. I'll be approaching that too.

Is there a good website with a check list thing to do for a new house?

 

Hi Kamakiri

With new builds, your specifications should be provided to you by the builder prior to you inspecting for the final time. New builds are actually much easier, as they also come accompanied with the home builders 7 yr warranty as well.