Downsizing from a home to an apartment offers plenty of upsides to your lifestyle, however, it is no easy task. The challenges of leaving a long-term family home and parting with items that may no longer fit into a smaller residence can be daunting and very emotional. Armed with a checklist and a plan, you can ensure your new apartment is safe and hidden expenses are easily avoided.

Apartment inspection checklist

Whether it is your first apartment purchase or you are entering a retirement phase and looking to relocate to the apartments for rent in Lansing, it is important you don’t take the look of your potential new home at face value. Yes, it may be presented in pristine condition, but there are plenty of ways homeowners can cover up cracks, and stage furniture to disguise flooring instabilities. Here’s how you can avoid a costly mistake.

Book a pre-purchase building inspection

Whilst many consider a pre-purchase inspection unnecessary for an apartment due to its typically smaller size, there are significant benefits to ticking this off your checklist. Regardless of the age of your intended apartment and whether it is part of a strata or body corporate, a building inspection carried out by an independent professional is a must.

A separate strata report will provide you with details of noticeable concerns in relation to the common property and the structure of the building itself. However, an inspection of the apartment may identify issues with the internal area or surroundings that have not been detected or previously reported.

What does an apartment inspection report cover?

When you organise an independent pre-purchase apartment inspection it ought to include all internal areas of your apartment or unit including the immediate exterior also.

Apartment Interior

As with a regular home inspection, your apartment will be inspected in detail, room by room. Any defects or concerns will be documented including the presence of rising damp, cracks in the walls, water pressure concerns, and electrical faults. Let’s not forget the presence of termites that can potentially be located within the walls of a building, even if you are not on ground level.

Apartment Exterior

The immediate exterior of your intended apartment will also be inspected. 

Get to know the complex

It is also recommended to take time to visit the complex yourself at different times of the day to gauge the noise level and regular comings and goings. After all, an apartment building can be smaller than a home so living in close proximity to your neighbours is a significant factor to consider. And if you plan on bringing a companion with you, ensure pets are allowed. We all know how precious it is to have our furry friends by our side.

Whilst you are at it, seek a copy of the most recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) minutes to assess for yourself what has been noted and what concerns, if any, might already have been raised by the residents.

It pays to be vigilant and treat the purchase of your new home, whether it be an apartment or a unit, like you would any new residence. An independent pre-purchase property inspection will give you peace of mind, and depending on what is found, it could even provide you with bargaining power to negotiate a lower price. Put yourself in the driver's seat and organise an inspection before you buy.