Home Buyers Lemon Alert

From the desk of Architect Centre,  Malaysia’s leading property inspection and building advisory service provider - be wary when you are buying your first home.

In view of the present economic downturn, many house owners are forced to sell their homes, even at ridiculously low prices. Then there would be buyers, especially first homebuyers who would jump at the opportunity to snap up a good bargain immediately. Architect Centre reminds such buyers that they could land themselves in greater financial problems instead.

Buying a “lemon” can be disastrous. A “lemon” property is one that is regarded as unsatisfactory or disappointing in the long run. The property   may  appear to be a bargain initially but in actual fact areoverpriced if hefty costs are needed to do repairs much needed after purchasing them. Another factor to consider is the rising interest rates in the long run.

Buying a home is probably the largest single investment one ever makes. It is therefore an almost mandatory responsibility for the first home buyer to seek professional advice, opinion or assessment of the targeted property he is interested in purchasing. He should do his homework in checking out or surveying   every aspect of the property with an experienced professional home inspector or appraiser.  

The unwary inexperienced buyer could have purchased a property that looks impressive with a fresh coat of paint that could be hiding serious structural problems. With the present availability of DIY products, home owners could fill gaps and cracks easily and could mask imperfections in properties that a first home buyer would not be able to detect.

He could land himself in a serious financial dilemma after the purchase as he has to fork out enormous sums for repairs or rectifications. It is often found that at least one in three homes sold have a range of problems and this would add so much to the actual cost of the property.

Architect Centre is therefore committed to advising first home buyers to seek their advice and expertise when contemplating to buy a first home. He or she should seek a pre-purchase professional home inspection before making that one in a lifetime commitment. A new inexperienced buyer would easily be deceived by beautifully dressed up features like newly- painted walls, strategically placed furniture, new wall paneling and the like in the property they are viewing. A well-trained home inspector would have keen eyes to spot such deceptive features.