Before you buy a new home, you need to bring in an expert to make sure that it is in marketable condition and that there are no hidden structural or performance issues behind the scenes. If you are applying for a mortgage, your bank or financial company will also want to review such an inspection, as they won't lend against a structure that is not what it seems. However, did you know that you need to conduct another inspection further along the process and before you actually finalise everything?

Understanding the Agreement

Often, a buyer and seller can make an original agreement quite a while before the final settlement day, signing off on a contract at the time of the original agreement. This will contain specific details about the property, appliances or other fixings included in the transfer and any other pertinent details.

Maintaining Condition

It is the responsibility of the seller to ensure that the property remains in the same condition as when originally inspected and not to do anything which could, in any way, devalue the asset. They need to keep everything clean, maintain the pool (if there is one) and not remove any items unless they were specifically discussed prior to the agreement.

Presettlement Inspection

It's not unusual for the actual settlement to take place months after the original contract exchange. Therefore, it is sensible for the buyer to conduct a secondary check (known as a pre-settlement inspection) within a few days before settlement. They can then be confident about the transaction and happy that there will be no surprises when they finally get the keys and walk in.

Dealing with Previous Issues

Further, it's important to ensure that any flagged issues have been taken care of in between the original agreement and settlement. If not, the settlement should be delayed. Likewise, if the pre-settlement inspection shows that some appliances or fixtures have been removed, the seller will need to replace them before settlement can take place.

Expert Support

This is a crucial part of the entire process, and you need to have your conveyancer on hand to ensure that it is tackled correctly. You need a checklist so you can go over each potential problem area one by one and will also need to cross-reference the contract of sale as you work.

What to Do Next

If you come up against any issues, talk through your options with your conveyancer. You'll need to handle these matters carefully so that everything can be put to rights before the all-important settlement day.

For more information about property conveyancing, contact a local professional.