When buying a home, your realtor, parents, friends and family usually all strongly advise you to book a home inspector within your delays and get the home thoroughly inspected by a professional who is licensed, has insurance and is registered to a certain association of building inspectors. This visual inspection is usually enough to see all or most of the important aspects concerning your home and most times settles the case for any buyer, young or old. What happens if you trust your building inspector, but really want to make sure you are making a sane and smart investment? – Here are three other tests/verifications you can do when buying a home to really cover all your bases.
1. Camera Drain Test
When purchasing a property, your inspector will make it very clear that you are paying for a visual inspection, meaning that he cannot see behind walls or under the ground. Organizing a drain inspection at the same time as your building inspection is a sure way to make sure that the main plumbing from the city to your home is in working order and does not need any updating or major repairs. Usually, your building inspector will advise you to do a drain test depending on the age of your immovable, but considering the low cost of a camera drain test (usually between 400-600$) why not make yourself feel safe and secure and schedule it in at the same time.
2. Structural Engineer Verification
Every home has foundation cracks and slight movement, and normally at your building inspection, your home inspector will let you know if a structural consultation is necessary, but if you are someone looking to fill in all the blanks then why wait? Getting a structural engineer onsite to look at your foundation and bricks as well as the stability of your home is a great way to ease your mind as a buyer and make sure that the building is structurally sound and does not have any plans of moving in the near future 
3. Thermographic Imaging
Something you may not have heard of before, but typically offered by most established building inspectors today – Thermographic imaging actually does help your inspector see behind the walls!! But not the whole way through. If you are purchasing an older home, or just someone who is worried about water infiltrations or really wants to go the extra mile to feel comfortable then thermographic imaging is the way to go. Although it does not see all the way through to the brick, thermographic imaging is able to show if any part of your gyprock is extremely cold, hot or damp. This means that if there is water infiltration (even of the slightest) and it is in contact with your gyprock, then you’d be able to see it with thermal imaging.
If you are purchasing an older home, or just someone who is worried about water infiltrations or really wants to go the extra mile to feel comfortable then thermographic imaging is the way to go. Although it does not see all the way through to the brick, thermographic imaging is able to show if any part of your gyprock is extremely cold, hot or damp. This means that if there is water infiltration (even of the slightest) and it is in contact with your gyprock, then you’d be able to see it with thermal imaging.Every home is very specific and may need additional tests or verifications such as asbestos testing, pyrite tests, soil contamination etc, but think of your building inspector as an emergency room doctor! He will identify the important aspects of the home and which tests or verifications may be necessary depending on the age of the home, location and what they see during your home inspection. Although these tests may make you feel more comfortable, they’re also probably not always necessary beforehand!
For any other information or questions about buying a home, feel free to give us a call today!
