Two Reasons Why Anyone Who’s Buying a Fixer-Upper Needs to Hire a Building Surveyor
Anyone who's interested in buying a fixer-upper should enlist the help of a building surveyor. Here are two reasons why.
It will ensure they fully understand how much renovation work they'll need to do
One reason a person in this situation should hire a building surveyor is that it'll allow them to understand exactly how much renovation work they'll need to do if they buy the fixer-upper. A building surveyor will evaluate the property very thoroughly and, in their report, will make note of every significant defect they find, as well as anything that might indicate that the property could develop issues in the future. They might, for example, make a note of things like rising dampness, cracks in the foundation, sagging of the roof or issues with the functionality of the windows.
Collectively, this information could be invaluable to the person who's interested in buying the property. The building surveyor's report could, for example, give them a much better grasp of the specific renovation tasks they'll need to get done (such as rewiring the building, replacing the roof or repairing the windows). This, in turn, will help them to calculate how much it would cost them to renovate the property as well as how long it would probably take them to complete the renovations. The latter will also help them to work out the point at which they could move into the property or rent it out.
The person could use the building surveyor's report in their negotiations
Sometimes, sellers of fixer-uppers do not always disclose every significant defect their property has, or they may downplay the severity of a particular property issue. However, a building surveyor's report will provide a detailed description of all of a property's significant issues.
If a person who's interested in purchasing a fixer-upper discovers, via their building surveyor's report, that the seller didn't fully disclose some of the property's serious issues, the buyer could use the report as proof of the existence of these issues. The buyer could then use the report in their negotiations with the seller and potentially get the latter to agree to sell it for less than the asking price. Alternatively, the buyer could use this report to convince the seller to get the previously undisclosed property issues repaired before the buyer agrees to purchase the property for the asking price. In either scenario, the buyer's decision to hire a building surveyor could save them money (even when the cost of using these services is taken into consideration).
Contact a building surveyor to learn more.