How to Spot Hidden Defects When Buying a Home?
Buying a home is one of the largest investments a person makes in their lifetime, and it's also one of the most emotional purchases. How can you navigate the real estate market chaos and make the right decision without being swayed by emotions, choosing a home in such a way that you won't have to deal with complicated technical and structural defects later? Experts from the real estate company Numai and the Building Inspection Bureau offer their advice.
Numai, a company operating in residential real estate and rental markets and offering an "rent to buy" service, encounters technical problems with residential real estate on a daily basis to ensure that the home chosen by the client doesn't bring unpleasant surprises after the transaction. When communicating with banks, it is crucial that the property documents are in order, and for Numai clients, it is also important that the technical condition of the property doesn't bring unjustified expenses when moving in.
"We operate in both new developments and the secondary market, and in both cases a conscious technical inspection is necessary – even in new developments, various defects can emerge," commented Numai CEO Erve Lettermo.
According to him, the main hidden defects that an ordinary person might not notice with their own eyes are hidden in electrical and heating systems, ventilation, chimneys, pipes, and documentation. "Simpler ones, like scratches on walls or loose baseboards, we can all notice ourselves and eliminating them is not very expensive. More serious problems can unexpectedly cause large expenses in the future," warned Lettermo, who recommends that his clients involve a construction specialist in the home-buying process if possible.
Building Inspection Bureau CEO Marko Sults gives an example from his practice. Clients found their dream home in a downtown wooden house and were very enthusiastic about it: the apartment was beautiful, freshly renovated, like a fairy tale. Fortunately, the enthusiasm didn't cloud the clients' attentiveness, and when the floor of an otherwise nicely renovated bathroom seemed suspicious, they called in a building inspection specialist from the Building Inspection Bureau. The specialist discovered that the apparently well-maintained bathroom needed a major renovation – the ventilation system was missing, the waterproofing was insufficient, and the base floor and wall structures were damaged.
"The transaction did take place, however, the client was able to negotiate the apartment price down by the renovation cost – so the dream home was purchased at a fair price and with a clear understanding of what was being bought," explained Sults. According to him, emotion is the main factor that prevents people from assessing the situation with a clear head and noticing important defects. "This also applies to the seller, who sees their property for sale as their own home and is emotionally attached to it. They may not even think to tell the buyer about the defects, because they've become so used to them themselves," added Sults.
According to Erve Lettermo, in addition to technical condition, the correctness of all possible documentation is no less important when buying a home. "You should be especially careful if the apartment or house has had renovation work done, technical systems or layouts have been changed. In this case, you must be sure that all necessary construction and use permits are in place, whether the changes have been registered, and whether safety and building standards have not been violated," listed Erve Lettermo.
Numai's experience shows that often a client is positively disposed towards a property appearing for sale at a "super good price" and is ready to rush into a transaction, to pay booking fees, without considering that behind the price is often not a seller unfamiliar with market prices, but a person deliberately realizing problematic property. "Most of this is found in North Tallinn," added Lettermo.
"You should also know that not all renovation work can be legalized. There are also situations where to legalize renovation work, large-scale additional construction work must be carried out, and this in turn brings considerable costs. Therefore, it's always worthwhile to consult with specialists in the field in advance when planning renovation work," added Marko Sults.
The most common technical defects to pay attention to:
Outdated, fire-hazardous electrical systems and aluminum wires: If when looking at the electrical system you see that it's a modern electrical panel, but the wires running into it are from the Soviet era, then the electrical system needs updating.
Excessive moisture in the basement or bathroom, inadequate waterproofing and mold: The moisture in a basement or other rooms can be measured and accordingly determined whether the room can be used appropriately.
Undocumented renovation work: If there are no documents, the building register data can be compared to the actual situation. If the comparison or inspection reveals, for example, that load-bearing walls have been removed, a renovation project containing strength calculations must be prepared, on the basis of which additional construction work must be carried out, and only after that is it possible to legalize the situation.
Other possible problems that can be detected before purchase: Leaking pipes and broken underfloor heating systems, and in the case of a house purchase, the presence of rodents and other pests and clogged and fire-hazardous chimneys.
