Buyer beware not all new homes are dream homes

By Janet Spencer

Buyer beware not all new homes are dream homes.  Building insurance, how much comfort can a buyer take from it?  I often hear from buyers ” I don’t need a Buyers Agent as I know what I am doing when buying a home” and then ” I don’t need to spend the money on a building inspection because I am buying a new property and it has building insurance”.

As an experienced, professional Buyers Advocate, I start “screaming inside my head” when I hear these sorts of comments.  I have had personal experience with Builders Insurance.

In my own home, my shower failed.  The base had been slowly subjected to a leak and the timber under the tiles had rotted away.  Wow, what a mess.  What I knew immediately was that it was going to cost a lot to repair.

First thoughts were “lucky we are just inside the expiration of the building insurance time frame”.  But after doing some research I found that unless the builder was DEAD, BANKRUPT or had somehow DISAPPEARED an insurance claim was not triggered.  So, what was my builder doing now?  He was retired.

So that meant, we couldn’t claim on insurance.

We contacted the builder and he wouldn’t re-attend and repair the shower or accept any responsibility for the workmanship or the repairs.

So that left us with two options, to sue or to pay for the repairs ourselves. Question how much comfort and protection Builders Insurance affords property owners in reality.

So,the message here is for buyers to beware when buying a new or near new property or even scarier and off the plan property is “do not just rely on Building Insurance for your peace of mind”.  YOu need to do your own due diligence or hire a fully accredited Buyers Agent/Buyers Advocate to assist you.

For up to date information on what’s happening in real estate in Melbourne, contact Janet at jspencer@buyersolutions.com.au or 0418 101 146.

Buyers Advocate