Are you finally getting ready to achieve your big dream of buying a home, and you’re a budget-conscious home buyer who also happens to have little time?
If that’s the case, you might be looking for a property that recently had a facelift in order to minimise the amount of work you’ll need to do in your new property.
While this seems like a great way to save both time and money, purchasing a recently renovated property can prove tricky. Therefore, to help you avoid common mistakes, we’ve listed below a few things to look out for:
Keep a Critical Eye
Sure you find the home inviting and really charming, you visualise your family enjoying some sunshine in the garden and would love to cook using the spacious kitchen countertop. All these positives shouldn't distract you from looking for issues and thoroughly inspecting every part of the house. Besides, your budget and time constraints make it all the more important as you might not be able to fix future issues you might have missed, preventing you from enjoying your new home.
Check the Bathroom and Kitchen Functionality and Aesthetics
Although you should try out everything in the home, including cupboards, drawers, doors, and windows, the bathroom and kitchen are usually the most expensive rooms to renovate. It’s therefore important to be particularly thorough when inspecting these rooms. If they both look like they’ve been recently renovated, make sure to take the following steps:
Make sure there is plenty of storage space and cupboards and drawers open well.
Ensure the kitchen is fully functional and provides optimised cooking and dining spaces.
Check out appliance brands. Branded appliances will likely last longer and can also be an indication that the owner invested in a proper renovation.
Check out the plumbing system in both the kitchen and bathroom and stay on the lookout for things like banging or gurgling sounds and potential leaks. You should also inspect the tiled floors of the bathroom. Indeed, waterproofing under the tiles usually starts wearing out after five years, so tiles that have been recently replaced can save you a lot of money in the short to medium time.
Inspect Paintwork and Skirting Boards
One of the cheapest ways for owners to upgrade the look of their property is to paint the interior and/or exterior walls. However, not all owners hire talented professional painters, and the job might not provide a nice and clean finish. You should, therefore, always be on the lookout for cheap paintwork.
While paintwork is a major thing to inspect, you should also look at the baseboards and ensure they’re even. Skirting boards and paintwork can give you a good indication when it comes to the level of investment that has been made in the renovation. An excellent paint job and even skirting boards will make it most likely the owner took care of their property and invested a fair amount of money in a quality renovation. Besides, keep in mind that painting is also sometimes a way to hide cracks and other damage, so always inspect paintwork with a critical eye.
While this post aims at providing you with the necessary tools to ensure a successful home purchase, you should also invest in a Building and Pest Inspection report. A Building & Pest Inspection will reveal any hidden issues and defects and potentially saving you a lot of hassle and money. Contact us today on 3369 5231 to book your inspection.