Turn on those appliances!

I know I've posted on this before but, after hearing yet another story from an unlucky home buyer, I thought it prudent to issue another reminder.
Turn on those electricals when inspecting properties! Especially big ticket items such as air con units, fancy rangehoods, dishwashers. At the very least ensure they have power and are doing what they're supposed to. An acquaintance told me recently they moved into their recent purchase to find both air con units in non-working order! They never tested them (as did the building inspector but this is fairly common as many of them don't test electricals) or asked the agent if they worked or not. Lesson learned- now they're looking at installing ducted as an alternative but aren't happy with their lack of DD. Buyer beware still applies!

 

The usual excuse I get is that the mains power was turned off

 

This is a very prudent tip, because special conditions in contracts of sale will specify who fixes breakages that occur after the date of sale but before settlement.

If the purchaser doesn't thoroughly check all the appliances and fixtures prior to signing the contract, they could find themselves paying to repair items simply because they can't prove that they were already broken. This is especially relevant for heating/cooling that hasn't been used in a while.