If you're buying an apartment or house you need to be able to assess its structure and make sure you are protected against costly maintenance issues in the future. Nothing beats employing a professional building inspector to do this, as most people lack the knowledge or experience in order to detect potential problems. However, having a checklist of things to look for can help you initially. Here's an example of some of the areas you should be looking at.
Inspecting the Doors
Check to see if each door opens and shuts without any obstruction around the door frame. Check also to see if the door panel itself has been shaved down or planed so that it fits the frame. An insider tip is to have a look at the striker plate and see if it's been repositioned at any time. Any of the aforementioned issues will indicate that adjustments have been made and further inspection is needed.
Potential Window Issues
Moving to the windows, open and close each one to make sure that they do so smoothly. Look for evidence of any condensation or damp. If you suspect that the window frames have recently been painted have a close inspection to see if you can detect whether any fibreglass or putty has been used as filler. This may indicate a deeper problem.
Looking at the Walls and Ceilings
Stand in the doorway of each room and have a look at an angle of 90° along the wall on either side. This will allow you to see if there's any buckling or any inconsistency. Check the walls to see if there are any areas that have been freshly painted in specific areas rather than as a whole. This could indicate that there may be damp issues, leading to mould accumulation.
Some more insider tips – check the mould and dampness along the floor level in particular. Also, shine a torch light at a narrow angle towards each wall and along the ceiling. This may reveal evidence of any patchy repairs or recent paint application, and may be a hasty attempt to cover things up.
In the Kitchen
When you move to the kitchen, take a good look underneath the sink. Any staining or marks can indicate there have been bigger problems with leakage in the past. Look for evidence of dampness between the sink itself and the splash backing.
If the home in question is not fitted with an exhaust system above the cooker allowing heat and fumes to vent to the outside, then check the cupboard space above the cooker. If there is evidence of staining or even cooking fat, this indicates that venting needs to be installed, and the cupboards need to be replaced.
These are just a few tips in relation to some of the rooms in your home and part of a more comprehensive building inspection necessary before you purchase. For more information, check out companies such as Buy Safe.
Share14 April 2015
I love getting into a company and helping them turn around their business. If a business is not profitable, no one will end up having a job. We like to give the workers a voice in the company because a lot of the time the great ideas already exist in companies, they just haven't had a chance to get these ideas to the bosses. This site has a lot of the ideas and techniques that we use when we go into a company, and you can try them out in your own business. Hopefully you'll be able to optimise your business too.
