How do you conduct a Defects Inspection?
As a new homeowner who has just received the keys to your new home, you are excited and planning for the renovation of your new home.
If you have purchased your home directly from the Developer, then it is wise to conduct a defects inspection of your new home before embarking on your renovation. If you detect and report any defects to the Developer or the Main Contractor via the Managing Agent after the renovation is completed, the Developer or Main Contractor may claim that it is your contractor that caused the defects and not their workmanship.
Back to the question on most peoples mind is how do they do it effectively conduct an inspection.
There are the options that can be explored by the new home owner for defects to be inspected in your new home. You can submit your defects list to the Developer & Main Contractor via the Managing Agent.
The first option
The first option is to use a masking take to mark out the areas which you think is a defect with a masking tape. As this is a DIY option, it is free. Take photos of the marked out areas and compile it in a report format. There are many software and apps that can do this but one of the more popular one would be report and run.
The Second option
The second option is engage a professional Building Surveyor to record down the defects. This may cost from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on the size of the unit and its complexity.
Is it worth it to hire a Building Surveyor ?
The question on most peoples mind is that is it worth it for the home owner to hire a Building Surveyor? From view gathered from new owners, they do not think it is worth it as they view it as a simple task that is "no brainier" and can be done by yourself. But the strain comes when the new home owners need to manage multiple tasks such as defects inspection, renovation, moving, family and other matters in their lives that they may start to feel the strain.
The key difference of engaging a Building Surveyor versus a layman doing the job is that he / she is a professional whose report carries will carry more weight as it bares their name and professional accreditation.
What if the owner is in the construction industry and have all the relevant skill set to take note of the all the type of defects. Our take is that self diagnosis may not yield a positive outcome. The reason is simple. An analogy that I can draw to is A doctor never self diagnose themself and will consult another doctor to seek their professional advise.
Similarly an owner can adopt this approach. Having spent a substantial amount of money on the property, what is this amount to spend to seek a professional advise. Furthermore, the task of marking out defects is an extremely time consuming process.