Housing

The cost of commissioning a condition inspection for a single-family house is at least several hundreds of euros and often well in excess of a thousand euros.

Having a condition inspection done does not free the seller from liability regarding possible defects in the property detected after the transaction has been concluded. Rather, it is a way to give the buyer information on the general condition of and potential hazards and risks associated with the property. The concealed defects of an apartment or house may not be revealed in a standard inspection.

Most disputes over real estate transactions are related to such concealed defects. In many such cases, a condition inspection has been done but the defect that is the cause of the dispute was not revealed in the inspection.

A seller should consider whether to commission and pay for a condition inspection routinely as soon as he decides to put an apartment or house up for sale.

• In many cases, it makes sense to wait until there is a serious buyer candidate. The prospective buyer may have experience with single-family houses and be aware of the maintenance and repair needs related to an aging building even without an inspection report.
• A condition inspection should be commissioned at an early stage of selling a home if the seller has little or no knowledge of the property's construction, repair and maintenance history. In such cases, the inspection helps to determine what is being sold and what the appropriate asking price would be.

If a condition inspection is commissioned,

• the seller must truthfully inform the inspector of any aspects related to the condition of the property when being interviewed at the start of the process
• it's a good idea to have the inspection done in the presence of the seller, the buyer candidate and the real estate agent. By having all the parties present, they are informed at the same time and have the opportunity to ask the inspector for more details
• The written condition inspection report should be provided to the parties well in advance of concluding the transaction, as there is a possibility of important details being missed at the time of the inspection. In the event of a dispute, the written report is considered the basis of what information the parties had regarding the property.