Before buying a house, it is very important to have a house inspection before signing the final offer. It is much better to hire a certified house inspector then trying to do the inspection yourself. Many people tends to only look at obvious problem, like whether things turn on, is water running, any obvious leaks, etc. The house inspector will check those things too, but they are also train to look for structure problem, which would cost a lot more to repair than just fixing the switch or the pipe. You want to get a good estimate on repair cost before you sign the contract. If something is really bad, you can bargain for a lower price to cover the repair cost.
There are many house inspection company on the market. Pick one that give you the best report. What is a good report? First the inspector has to be through, but you don’t really know unless you have reference. Second, the report has to be easy to read. The report often come in a from of a huge check list. A list of code word on the check list is not very useful information to the home owner who don’t know how to interpret the data. You want to hire a house inspection company that use the Home Reference Book for their report. It is not only a check list, it has detail descriptions on everything you need to know about a house. Highly recommended for first time home owner.
Some people just let the inspector do their work and read the report afterward. To get the most worth of your money, go to the house inspection, follow the inspector around when he is inspecting and ask him if you any questions. You are not buying a few pages of paper, you buying an inspection. The best way to get all the information is seeing the inspector do his work. Of course don’t obstruct his work or he will kick you away. Most often the inspector are welcome to have someone accompanying him. It is less boring to talk with someone during the job. It is a lot easier to understand what’s wrong if the inspector points out the problem right in front of your eyes then trying to tell the problem in words when reviewing the report. Moreover, you can pick up a lot of useful house maintenance tips and details about your house. I would never know which circle breaker control which socket or how radian heat system works if I didn’t follow him around.
你買的是二手house?
通常二手樓較多結構問題,新樓則比較信得過。獨立house又比普通單位更需要檢查。
在香港,好少聽見有甚麼house inspector,或許港人買樓真係比較求其,因為好多係買黎炒。所以之前有售樓廣告被批失實,竟然可以賣新聞。我想,就算再求其,也不會單看廣告就落訂吧?真係多鬼如。
加拿大買新樓要比GST﹐買二手樓唔駛。同埋好多問題係要住幾年先出現﹐所以買二手樓好過買新樓。獨立屋用木起﹐間間工人也不同﹐就算同一個發展商﹐這間屋冇事不等同隔離間屋冇事。所以買樓一定要驗清楚﹐如果結構有問題手尾好長。
我買Duplex﹐半獨立屋﹐四年樓齡。
Congratulations! When are you getting your house?
August 20.
BTW, we have to pay PST as well to new houses starting July 2010 in Ontario. It sucks. For a $500K house, the sales tax is $65K. You can turn your house into a palace with the tax you pay!
What a rip off. Do they have first time buyer tax credit? But in BC you don’t get any tax credit if your house is over $450k. Stupid.
I think you don’t need to pay PST if the house is <200K. And you get up to $25K rebate if the house is <500K. If the house is over, you don't get any rebate.
Congrats for buying your own place! Now, with the mortgage, of course, the bank owns you now. 🙂
In our home inspection, I bought along a digital camera. After getting permission from the inspector and promising not to film him, I shot a few photos and also video clips of him explaining and inspecting things. We found them quite useful when I needed to refer to some of the things he inspected.
Good luck and enjoy your house!
I bring along my camera and take lots of pictures. Too bad I don’t have a camcorder.