What are the reasons for a technical inspection?

A building or technical Inspection of a house is done before buying or selling a house. Or when you want to know what (major) maintenance is needed on your home. Still, many people are questioning the reasons for a technical inspection and what the benefits are. HuisAssist explains the reasons for a technical inspection and when you could do a technical inspection.

What is a technical inspection?

A technical inspection, also known as a structural inspection or building inspection, is a visual check of an existing house. From the attic to the crawl space and from inside to outside. Thanks to this inspection, you get an insight into the structural condition of the house and an estimate of the costs to repair any defects and bring the house into good condition.

Reasons for a technical inspection

By having a technical inspection carried out, you get more certainty about the condition of the house. This way, you avoid overlooking overdue maintenance when you are excited about a house, paying too much for the house or even making a purchase you might regret later. Furthermore, the reason for an inspection may differ when you want to buy, sell or remodel a property.

Technical inspection before purchase

Planning to buy a house? If so, a Building Survey can be done at three points in time:

During negotiations with the seller. You want your final decision to depend on the outcome of the technical inspection. Risk: the seller sells the house to someone else in the meantime.
During the three-day cooling-off period, after both you and the seller have signed the sales contract. Within these three days, you can dissolve the contract free of charge and without giving any reason.
After signing the sales contract; you include the outcome of the technical inspection as a resolutive condition in the sales contract.

Technical inspection before sale

Planning to sell your house? A technical inspection will show interested buyers the condition of your house. To make your house even more attractive, you can repair any defects beforehand.

Technical inspection for maintenance

Do you want to know what maintenance needs to be done to your house? Or what is coming up in the future for which you need to put money aside? Then a building inspection can help you gain insight into (future) maintenance. That way, you know exactly what kind of maintenance is coming up.

Is a building inspection compulsory?

You are not obliged to carry out a structural inspection to buy a house. However, some mortgage lenders do make carrying out a structural inspection a requirement. With us, performing a structural inspection is not a condition for obtaining a mortgage, unless the appraiser suspects (serious) defects in the house and it turns out that the cost of the overdue maintenance is 10% or more of the house value. In that case, further structural inspection is needed according to the appraiser, in which case we also request that report.

When do you have a technical inspection carried out?

You can have a technical inspection carried out at two moments: before or after you make an offer. In a tight housing market, you often don’t have time to have an inspection carried out before making an offer, otherwise, the house will pass you by. Therefore, many people choose to have a technical inspection carried out after they have made an offer. In that case, including the inspection as a resolutive condition in the sales contract is wise. You then specify an amount for the maximum repair costs that may result from the technical inspection. Are these costs higher than the agreed amount? Then you still have the right to cancel the purchase after the inspection.

If you have a technical inspection before you make an offer, you can use the results of the inspection in negotiating the asking price. The outcome can also be part of the resolutive conditions, for instance by including it in the purchase contract that the sale will only go through if the seller repairs the leak in the roof before a certain date.

Compare technical inspectors

HuisAssist helps you compare several technical inspectors, making it easy to choose an inspector that suits you best.
> Compare technical inspectors here