Pre-settlement inspections

Here in VIC you cannot delay settlement for minor issues. What you can do is withhold up to $5,000 for repairs and get the vendor to do it or make a claim to this $5,000.

 

Thanks @Big Will. Our mistake was, we didn't document the photos before so we only have the photos after. Both the vendor and selling agency said that the property was in the exact same condition.

Anyway I just wanted to move on and will just bear the costs to repair the damages. Charging it to experience for future purchase...

These things can easily dishearten an investor and stop investing but thanks to the forumites here for sharing their knowledge and encouragement.

 

No, should not really......

You expect x amount of things, those things can and will happen, or be missed, or happen right after settlement, just part of life really.

Also, you simply cannot cover every single thing.

If you are buying in a buyers market, you have lot's of time and paying market price & the vendor & agent allow you to inspect yourself, you can take more time, try and dot all the I's and cross all T's, but don't get too tied up (says someone who checks as much as they can...lol)

I quite often am getting good buys, some have the owners living in the place, you do not want to come off as very pushy, invasive, demanding etc etc, if the buy is good enough, just expect to spend a few grand or 5.

Also, if you are negotiating, putting extra conditions may make the deal fall over if you insist, sometimes the vendor will get cold feet if you try too many conditions, and if market is warm to hot, they may just dismiss you outright.

So, yes, it is a fine line, a balancing act & sometimes it all goes well, sometimes not.

Frankly, it is the months, years following that provide the most challenges

 

Many have already contributed to this thread with some great advice so I won't add the obvious however the above clause is certainly not readily accepted by the majority of vendors solicitors in our experience with clients here in NSW. Some will accept and this certainly makes our job easier come PSI time but don't expect vendors to agree to this.

As per others opinions, as BAs we photograph, record and test appliances however come PSI time if something is broken/missing/not working it comes down to your negotiating skills, communication and relationship with the selling agent/soli/vendor as well as creativity. Most vendors, in our experience, are reasonable and fair and will at least agree to hold back funds/make good or replace however then there are the exceptions. Appealing to the "fair and reasonable" status of the vendor, via your solicitor, can go a long way towards keeping the situation amicable if your requests are bona fide.

Be prepared, keep records and always ask for more (including clauses) than you need. Good luck.

 

Thank you @dabbler and @Jacque! Actually we went through a lot with this second purchase. The first one last year was somehow easy and we got tenants a few days after settlement. Now we have to fix the issues before advertising the property for lease. We didn't really expect these things to happen one after another.

So yeah need to do more due diligence next time, and yes it's very tough to buy in conditions were market is warm to hot...