How To Nail Your Final Inspection | Pre Settlement Inspection Tips

Breaking down what to do at your final inspection. What a final inspection is. When you should have your final inspection and more.

Welcome back everyone Andrew Moore here and today we are talking final inspections.

As many of you know I recently bought another investment property and on Saturday I had the final inspection in preparation for settlement on Tuesday.

I remember back when I was selling houses that so many people would show up to the final inspection and ask me what exactly they were supposed to do.

So I thought I put together a quick video for you guys out there that aren’t sure what you should be doing because you're definitely not alone.

Now the first miss conception some first home buyers make is thinking this is the time to point out all the things wrong with the property and ask the seller to fix them.

It’s actually too late for that. When you buy a house you a buying it in the condition it is at the time of settlement. Unless it’s a brand new house and comes with a warranty from the builder

but if it’s an existing house, you are actually checking that the property is in the same condition as when you bought it potentially a few months prior.

So if the heating doesn’t work at the final inspection but is was working when you bought the house that’s the kind of things you are looking for.

A few things you should check are

all the lights are working. The hot water is working, try all the taps. Turn the air conditioner and heating units on. Open the garage door with the remote and using the button on the wall if it has both and is in fact a remote control garage.

I once had a buyer say we can’t find the remote for the garage but it was a manual garage so keep that in mind.

Something to keep in mind is in a lot of contracts there is a clause that states the seller does not have to have utilities connected at the final inspection.

So there is a strong chance that the power could be off when you get to the property. If that is the case you won’t be able to test everything we just spoke about.

To prevent thing from happening check with the real estate agent a few weeks before settlement and if the owner has turned off the power.

You can actually get the utilities connected in your name before the final inspection.

Now you don’t have to worry about whether you will be able to test everything.

One of the most common issues at a final inspection is the seller has removed something that was sold to you with the property.

For example if there was a mirror fixed to the wall and the owner has taken it, you have the right to ask for that mirror to be put back.

Anything classified as a fixture or a fitting is supposed to stay. If however that mirror was just on a hook. Then it would not be classified as a fixture and the seller would be entitled to take it.

If you do find an issue let the real estate agent know but also make sure to notify your conveyancer who will let the sellers conveyancer know if the issue in writing.

When should you book your final inspection for?

It’s a great question and I’m glade you asked

The idea of a final inspection is for the buyer to check that the owner hasn’t altered or damaged the property in any way since the sale. Because of this you want to do the final inspection as close to the settlement as possible however if there is an issue you still need to give time between the final inspection and the settlement date to give the seller time to fix the issue.

That’s it for this video guys if you enjoyed it please give the video a like it really help and consider subscribing if you aren’t already.