There are a lot of aspects, factors and things to consider when one is in the mind of buying a home. Even before the actual process begins the particular person has already been sublimely collecting information from various sources. These can be from articles from the newspapers, magazines or the web; word-of-mouth from social circles; advertisements in the form of billboards, hoardings and posters, etc.
One main aspect of the home buying process is site-visits. They are very crucial, time-consuming and can get tiring at most times. Keeping a lot of things in your head while going for a site visit may not be the best scenario for you. Hence, we have created a nifty real estate site visit checklist for homebuyers like you!
This small checklist is not like most of the other conventional guides. In this one, we will inspect some of the more-often-than-not forgotten pointers that are mostly overlooked in most of the guides.
So, let’s dive right into the checklist. Here are some of the pointers that we believe are extremely essential for the people who are inspecting/visiting a project or a property –
1. Architecture, Engineering, Foundation & Structure
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One of the most important factors that go into creating a particular project that would actually amplify it is the durability and stability of it. These aspects should be well inspected as this is the main factor to know about the future state of the foundation and structure as a whole.
Find out the depth of the hole dug to lay the building(s), what kind of cement, bricks and steel they use, look for reports regarding the land on which it is being constructed, look for how it is being constructed and if the people who are in charge of it are doing it competently enough.
2. Ceilings & Walls
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Other than the structure itself, two other important aspects that are also more or less closely connected with the structure, and are important to thoroughly inspect the ceilings and walls. These indeed form a particular house and their strength and stability should be properly examined.
Look for if there are any bends in the surfaces that should otherwise be always flat, look for spot softs on the surfaces, look for if certain parts of the surface are taking longer to dry this is a sign that it may be prone to leaking in the future, and, look for cracks or any other kind of discrepancies.
3. Flooring & Tiles
Flooring & tiles are extremely important to inspect when it comes to a new house inspection. Several builders these days offer customisation options where-in the home buyer can pre-decide on the kind of flooring they want. In spite of this, it is still going to be the builder who is responsible for laying them out.
Look for minor/major slopes or slants in surfaces, look for irregular, loosely or badly-fitted tiles, look for cracks, look for smoothness of the surface and, one must ensure to check the quality of cement and tiles being used.
4. Fittings & Wiring
When it comes to inspecting some of the more internal aspects of homes when on a project site visit, fittings & wiring stand out from many of the rest. Once one moves-in to a house there shouldn’t be problems or issues that they might face when it comes to everyday things like lighting, gas, geyser, fans or any other appliances. Barring the timely irritation, there are also good chances that one’s appliances might be in danger of getting severely affected.
One should look into the brand/kind of material that the builder is going to use not only within the apartment but, the project as a whole; one must seek to acquire better fitting options or customised in a way that would benefit the person who is going to live there i.e. location of plug-points and switches.
5. Bathroom Fittings & Plumbing
The most valuable and everyday-used resource at any house is indefinitely water. Buying a house almost always entails receiving a good amount of water as opposed to waiting for it or not getting it at all. Bathroom fittings & Plumbing play a vital role in keeping the water flowing equally throughout the house.
One must ensure to know more about the kind of fittings and plumbing equipment that the builder is going to use. Usually, a home buyer can opt for customisations of fittings and other material that make-up the bathroom. Plumbing conduits should be well-checked so that there won’t be any major problems (at least from within) in the future.
Related Post – HOME INSPECTION TIPS: HOW TO CHECK EVERYTHING BEFORE BUYING A PROPERTY
6. Doors & Windows
Another important fittings-aspect to take a good inspection of when doing your real estate site visit are the doors & windows. Every flat once readied by the builder comes with a set of fitted doors and windows. Usually, the home buyer already knows what kind of fittings they are going to receive a standard that is used throughout the project; however, one can ask for customisations.
Homebuyers should check the fittings of their going-to-be flat thoroughly, they should look for gaps between that of doors & windows with walls, they should check the quality of the products used and the quality of the fitting job, and, if they have been fitted well-enough to ensure safety and security of the people who will live in the home.
7. Electricity & Water
One of the main reasons why people buy a home (even subliminally) is to ensure that they have a steady, stable and functional flow of some of the most basic requirements that turn a house into a home. The most important of some of these essentials are electricity and water.
Homebuyers should learn and have a thorough pre-hand understanding of how electricity and water is supplied; then, they can use their knowledge to understand if and whether the builder has complied with them for the particular project. Things like water pipelines, treatment systems, recycling facilities, grid lines, generators, power-cut frequencies, source and supply of water and who is involved and responsible for it, etc should all be kept in mind.
8. Maintenance & Security
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No matter the scale of the project every structure has some kind of provisions for maintenance & security. Maintenance involves maintaining the establishment whilst it is being used on a daily basis by everyone who lives in it. Security involves all of the measures that the proposing builder & developer ensures to provide once the project becomes fully functional.
Some of the key aspects to keep in mind are the amount of money that the tenants have to spend for maintenance, where and how all of the money would be spent, all of the security features including CCTV cameras, safety walls, number of security guards, the company that represents the security guards, etc.
9. Society & Neighbourhood
Although this point doesn’t entirely cover what is in the hands of the builder & developer, it is always important to inspect the society and its neighbourhood in such a way that home buyers get a feel of it. He/she should try and absorb the feelings associated with the project and the area surrounding it.
Some of the aspects that a home buyer should inspect when on a real estate site visit are if and whether the project matches-up to the ideas, facilities and representations that were promised by the builder, the immediate neighbourhood and the locality of the area, for convenience stores, schools, hospitals, recreational and entertainment facilities, etc.
10. Amenities & Facilities
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It occurs quite a few times that some of the amenities and facilities assured and promised by the builders are either scrapped-out or do not make-up for what they had earlier been assured of. This creates a sense of distrust and disharmony and isn’t a good way to start something as big as a journey of a new home. Homebuyers must be aware of these kinds of discrepancies and should try and avoid such situations altogether.
A few things to keep in mind to minimise damage from these are to thoroughly research the builder through whom one is going to purchase their homes, their track record and reviews would be vital when it comes to knowing if they actually live up to their promises. Potential homebuyers could also speak to some of the older customers or even visit other projects made by the builder to find out more about how their investment would pay-off in the future.
To conclude
When it comes to the essential prerequisites and requirements associated with heavy and long-term investment, there are always several aspects and factors to take into consideration.
Through this real estate site visit checklist, you can easily know and understand what it takes to complete a good and thorough property/project site visit. Although, for a deeper understanding, we recommend you always dive deeper and learn more about how you can improve your overall process to suit your exclusive needs.
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