When buying a property which is going to cost you hundreds of thousands of rands, shouldn’t you be absolutely certain that the property you intend to buy is in good condition with no major defects/problems?

Beware The CPA And Disclosure Documents

The new Consumer Protection Act (CPA) does not allow for properties to be sold “as is” or “voetstoots” anymore, and the seller should reveal all known defects to the buyer. The problem is that the seller might not always be aware of certain problems, and it might be hard to prove the seller knew about a specific problem when he sold the property.

Today many estate agents will provide you with a Diclaimer and Disclosure document, signed by all parties. This document is for their protection (the estate agent and seller), not so much yours… They will use this document as their weapon against CPA claims if needed.

Importance Of Home Inspections

A professional Home Inspections will alert all parties about any defects or problems, and the offer to purchase should be drafted with this in mind. Either have the seller repair the problems, or negotiate a better price after getting quotes for the needed repairs. After repairs are carried out, the home inspector can once again verify that repairs have been done according to required standards and the purchase can proceed.

Should the seller not be prepared to fix the problems or negotiate a lower price, the inspection report can be sent to the bank to prove that the property is not a good investment, and the bank will most likely decline your home loan, which will offer you a way to legally get out of the contract. I am not saying you should abuse the system in any way, but you wouldn’t want to buy a property if the repairs are going to cost more than you can afford, or cause you to overspend on the property.

How To Choose A Property Inspector

If you intend to make use of a professional property inspector, do keep the following in mind:

• The inspector should have the required training, experience and accreditations
• The company should preferably be part of a national franchise to ensure good standards across the board.
• Where possible, look for companies endorsed by industry bodies, reputable companies and estate agencies.

After searching for a while, I’ve found Inspect-a-Home to be the perfect company to use. They have been in business for a long time and have franchises throughout South Africa. All of their franchise owners are trained and experienced, and their prices are fixed across the board.

One more benefit is the fact that Inspect-a-Home will not recommend or endorse any specific company for repairs or quotes. While this may sound counter-productive, it ensures that none of their inspectors will make any false claims since they have nothing to gain and remain completely unbiased.

Exclusive Discount on Home Inspections

I have negotiated a special discount (only available to my home loan customers) on all home inspections requested on my website. If you are interested, please visit this page to receive your 10% discount on your property inspection

I hope that this article could help you – whether it just confirms you are buying a quality property or to prevent you from buying a problematic property which could cost thousands of rands in unforeseen expenses.

If you haven’t yet singed the Offer to Purchase, I would suggest that you insert a clause in your offer to purchase that states that the offer is subject to a favourable property inspection by Inspect-a-home and the seller should pay for the inspection. The seller may keep the report should you decide not to purchase, and the report is valid for 6 months. Just let the seller know about the website address where they will also be eligable for a 10% discount on the inspections.

IMPORTANT: The discount is not available if you request an inspection on their own website. If you wish to receive the discount, you must apply on this home inspections page