For homebuyers, and particularly first-time purchasers, the hiring of a home inspector before closing escrow and the sale is critical. Too often home-builders are pushing escrow closings to get the sales finalized and move onto the next units in the development phase. Unfortunately, errors are frequently made that should be fixed before turning the keys over. Some are small and cosmetic. Others are structural in nature, capable of causing serious problems years later. Whichever the case, a buyer is well-served knowing what he’s getting in a house before closing the deal.

Home inspectors are licensed professionals who are educated on local and state building codes for residential and/or commercial construction. The building code in most areas is so varied and complex, mistakes are commonly made. Additionally, new construction projects tend to be favored by community local government because they mean new property tax dollars. As a result, city building inspection may not be as strict as needed by a consumer since it holds up new revenue for city hall. Thus a consumer is best served by hiring his own inspector to represent his interests in a residential construction.

Hiring a building inspector is not hard. Many are listed in your local phone book yellow pages and talking with neighbors and relatives can provide you valuable referrals. The average fee for an inspector’s time will likely be somewhere between $400 to $600. This will involve a full inspection of the house and grounds and preparation of a report detailing the deficiencies found. A good report will also provide the specific code requirement that applies to the deficiency and why. A copy can then be provided to the home-builder as a punch list of issue to repair before the sale can be closed.

Home-builders aren’t particularly fond of independent home inspectors coming in prior to closing escrow. Inspections cause delays and cost the builder money having to come back in and make listed repairs. Further, some inspections will point out issues that builders don’t feel are necessary to hold up a sale over. Many builders will dissuade buyers from bringing in their own inspector, trying to convince the buyer that the home warranty period will provide plenty of time for fixing issues. That said, having issues fixed ahead of time means you still have the entire home construction warranty to deal with other issues later. But if you wait, the warranty period runs without a guarantee the builder will still be around later to fix the found issues. If a home-builder starts to get fussy about a home inspector, remind the builder that you won’t close escrow until the inspection occurs. This will bring the immediate discussion back down to earth again.

If you are looking for a fully qualified consultant for building inspection reports in Perth then contact BSP Construction Consultants. BSP offer a wide range of services, including the option to customize reports to your exact requirements.