Buying Tips #4 Subject to Building Inspection Clause

The other ‘subject to’ sale clause is the building inspection. Having already touched on the subject of finance, the other one is agreeing to buy the home provided you can take a building inspector through the property.

Your chosen building inspector might be a registered professional inspector or it could be a friend with building knowledge. Either way, the inspection buys peace of mind – it’s important to have an accurate gauge of the home’s stability. It could have unstable foundations, contain dangerous building materials like asbestos or have a borer problem (a wood eating insect) in the framework, so be sure to get your building inspection done. Contact the agent to book a time to go through the property so your chosen inspector can inspect it with a critical eye.

A word of warning: the report that comes back to you (usually from a professional) is likely to be many pages long and you may experience moments of panic as you read through. However, a lot of the items or ‘faults’ on the list will be very minor like a little crack in the window or a door that doesn’t close properly. Don’t let these alarm you. Ultimately you’re chasing information about the structural robustness or the integrity of the property. That will help you to sleep at night and validate your decision to go ahead and buy that particular property.

So we recommend getting your building inspection done quickly – within the first week or two of making an offer – so you can tick that box and move onto the next. Speaking of which, we’ve got another ‘subject to’ clause to deal with next time. See you then!