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TassieTosser @aussie.zone

1y ago

When Erika offered $700k for a home, she didn't know it was 'better suited to demolition'

www.abc.net.au When Erika offered $700k for a home, she didn't know it was 'better suited to demolition'

Erika Vlasic received two reports about a home she wanted to buy. She said one came back with "no big issues", the other found the property was suited to "demolition".

When Erika offered $700k for a home, she didn't know it was 'better suited to demolition'

Privatised building inspections are a fucking disgrace. I didn't even realise there were no licencing requirements. I thought they had to be engineers at the very least.

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30 comments

I don't know what it's like in Australia, I'm in the USA and just bought a house nowhere near as expensive as hers. I did my due diligence about the entire process, I knew what it takes to be an inspector, I knew not to trust a seller's inspection. I spent 5 months looking at houses, passing on houses over and over. I found my own inspector that I trusted.
I appreciate that this girl is spreading awareness, articles like this are how this kind of knowledge gets out there, but there's no excuse for spending almost 1 million dollars without doing at least a basic Google search for "what should I do before buying a house"
- But she didn’t buy it. I’m guessing you didn’t read the article.
  She felt uneasy about the “pre sale inspection” so got her own which found all those problems and then pulled out of the sale.
- She did her due diligence. That's why she didn't buy the house. You're mansplaining.
- Shit, I did more due diligence than she was planning when I bought my $2300 motorcycle. And all I did was bring a knowledgeable friend.
  If you are spending any amount that you couldn't comfortably survive losing entirely, make sure you bring in your own expert. Now obviously their level of expertise can vary based on value (I'll stake 2.5 thousand on my friends word, I wouldn't stake 100+ thousand without a licensed professional). But unless you're willing to call yourself knowledgeable enough, always have a second opinion.
  And for bonus points, knowledgeable or not, that second opinion is uninvested emotionally. I fell in love with my bike as soon as I heard it fire up, same with my car. But in both cases, I brought someone knowledgeable who didn't give a fuck if I bought that vehicle. They were able to confirm if I was getting a fair deal without emotion clouding their judgements.
  And neither of those cases were risking 6 digits worth of money. Nowhere near the price or due diligence of a house.
  Edit: spelling
  
  Not only that but the inspection report on a house is a bargaining tool
  My 700 dollar report lead to 10,000 in savings at closing on my house... Worth every penny
  
  Same deal for me, I spent about 550 on an inspection and that let to me being credited 8,500 bucks at closing.
  
  Exactly. You're unlikely to spend a significant percentage of the total cost on your third party inspection. But that third party inspection will give you information worth way more than they cost. Either the peace of mind that you're paying a fair price (and doing so fully aware of the issues that you may need to resolve), or encouraging you to negotiate lower/walk away. In all 3 situations you end up leaving the deal more confident that you made the best choice, and usually the inspector earns that money.

30 comments