Pre-purchase property inspections should never be considered an ‘optional extra’ when acquiring a new property. Many property inspections have prevented a buyer from making a huge financial mistake by investing in a house riddled with defects.
Once a defect is found on a property, the owners are often given the opportunity to rectify the issues at their cost. Alternatively, the buyers can negotiate the price of the house down, to accommodate the cost of fixing the issues once they’ve moved into the home.
Bathrooms and kitchens are high risk areas for defects due to the complex combination of water, gas, electricity and high levels of regular use.
So, what will a property inspector look for in these wet areas of the home?
PROPERTY INSPECTIONS ON KITCHENS AND BATHROOMS – WHAT WE LOOK FOR
What to expect from a kitchen or bathroom inspection
Looks can be very deceiving when you first view a property. We live in an era where many DIY renovators enjoy having a go at modernizing their homes. Some choose to renovate without licensed tradespeople, which opens a can of worms to possible problems. A home may look stylish – but who knows what’s lurking behind that façade?
Property inspections are important for both new and older properties. In older homes, an inspector may be checking for damage that occurs over time. In newer builds, your inspector will be looking for quality of workmanship.
The kitchen and bathroom are two areas of a home that will always require a thorough pre-purchase inspection. These rooms often hold the most plumbing and electrical services in the one area and are prone to moisture damage, corrosion and decay. At Action Property Inspections, our inspectors work hard to ensure new homeowners won’t have to spend big money to rectify the issues down the track.
These are just some of the things our expert inspectors look for when inspecting a kitchen and bathroom.
Kitchen inspections
The kitchen is often the main hub of the home and has the most services running into the property. Cooking, washing and a high use of appliances happen within the kitchen, so it’s essential a thorough inspection is made of this area. Your safety as well as the efficiency of your home in day to day life could be seriously impacted by a defective kitchen.
Kitchens cost a lot to install, so the last thing you need is to move into your new home and find that the kitchen needs to be replaced because an inspection wasn’t booked before settlement.
What property inspectors should look for in the kitchen
- Gas or electric stove tops light up when turned on
- Exhaust fans turn on and off
- Sink drains away when filled with water
- Sink mixer is fastened into sink and has cold water on the right and hot on the left
- Under the kitchen sink is inspected for leaks or moisture damage
- Oven turns on and off
- Lights turn on and off
- Benches are inspected for damage and moisture
- Splashbacks are checked for damage
- Check for no drips on water connections to appliances and the sink
- Insinkerator turns on and off
- Ceiling, walls and architraves are checked for structural or water damage.
Bathroom inspections
Even the most modern or carefully renovated bathrooms can have hidden problems that aren’t easily seen by the buyer. The bathrooms in the property you purchase must not only abide by the local plumbing laws, they should also be useable without any problems to the new homeowner. Some of the underlying issues in a bathroom aren’t noticeable unless an inspector checks the problem areas that are common to some properties.
What property inspectors should look for in the bathroom
- Floor tiles on the floors and walls are inspected for cracks
- An inspection of moisture on the floors and walls
- Shower will be turned on to check the hot and cold water are on the correct sides (hot water should always be on the left, cold water on the right)
- All bathroom taps will be checked for leaks and that they turn off correctly
- Hot water side of taps will be tested to ensure the hot water unit is working
- Shower rose will be checked for drips after it’s been turned on
- Taps will be checked to see handles and buttons are intact
- The shower tray will be checked to ensure there are no leaks and the waste drains the water away
- Shower screen will be inspected for seal damage, cracks or chips, and that it swivels/closes as needed
- Ventilation will be checked to ensure it’s adequate for the bathroom
- Seals around the bath will be inspected
- Location of the floor waste in both the main bathroom and ensuite will be checked
- Basins will be checked to ensure they drain away
- Pop-up plug and waste will be checked to ensure they don’t get stuck into place
- Vanity cabinet will be checked for moisture and possible leaks
- Lights will be turned on to check for blown bulbs
- Walls will be checked for water damage
- Toilet pans will be checked for cracks
- Toilet will be flushed to ensure no leaks through the pan collar and that the cistern cuts off after being filled
- Check for cistern leaks both outside and inside the cistern
- Check for the rubber seal connecting the cistern to the toilet pan doesn’t leak
- Ensure the buttons on the cistern press down as required
- Check architraves for moisture or water damage.
As you can see, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to inspecting the kitchen and bathroom. If a few of these problems are missed, they can cause a new buyer distress, inconvenience and big dollars in repairs. Yet they could have been avoided if a pre-purchase inspection had been organized!
The team at Action Property Inspections wants to ensure your property doesn’t have any hidden issues that will cost you money in the long run. If you want to know the true state of the property you’re purchasing, trust Action Property Inspections to give you a comprehensive report.