- Your broker has an obligation to recommend a complete inspection.
- The inspector evaluates what is visible: structure, roof, plumbing, electrical, foundations.
- The report lets you negotiate, request repairs or withdraw, within the deadline.
Why you do not skip it
Waiving the inspection is written on the promise to purchase, and your broker must still recommend it. The reason is simple: if a problem appears after the purchase and you want to assert your rights, having refused the inspection can work against you. A court will ask whether you acted prudently.
It is even more true for a sale without legal warranty, where the inspection complements the seller's declarations, and for a new build, where it lets you have defects corrected by the builder before taking possession.
Who, what, how
Choose an inspector who meets the requirements the OACIQ has set: professional liability insurance, a recognized service agreement, recognized inspection standards, and a written report. Your broker can provide a list of names. An architect, a technologist or an engineer can also do the inspection.
The inspector evaluates what is visible and accessible: the structure, the roof, the foundations, the plumbing, the electrical, the heating, visible insulation, the windows. They demolish nothing and do not guarantee what is hidden. For a condo, the inspection can be limited to the private portion, but it is recommended to look at the common portions too. Attend the inspection if you can: it is two or three hours that teach you your future house.
Reading the report, and then
The report arrives within days. Read it in full and ask the inspector your questions. Distinguish three categories: the normal maintenance of a house that age, the work to plan over the next few years, and the serious problems, those affecting structure, water or safety.
With the report in hand, and within your condition's deadline, you have three options: continue as is, ask the seller for repairs or a price reduction, or withdraw by written notice. Your broker advises you on which to choose and drafts what is needed. What you do not do: let the deadline pass while thinking it over.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a pre-purchase inspection cost?
A few hundred dollars, depending on the size and age of the property and on the inspector. It is one of the closing costs from step 4, and one of the best spent.
Complete inspection, by an inspector who meets the OACIQ's requirements, with you on site if possible. The report gives three options, within the condition's deadline: continue, negotiate, withdraw.
- Ask your broker for a list of inspectors, and check their insurance and standards.
- Book the inspection as soon as the promise is accepted, to respect the deadline.
- Attend the inspection and take notes.
- Sort the report into three categories before deciding.
Sources : OACIQ, Buyer's guide (the inspection)
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