Dangers When Buying A Home: Construction

When looking at a home for the first time, you obviously want to pay attention to the various construction elements. Some real estate agents are very knowledgeable about home construction. The qualified buyer’s agent should be knowledgeable about home construction, and be able to point out basic construction flaws and areas of concern. Make sure any buyer representative you consider working with can do this for you.

However, the most important service your buyer's agent will do for you when evaluating the construction and condition of a home is to put you in contact with a qualified structural inspector to professionally inspect the home on your behalf. It will be that inspector's subsequent report that you and your buyer's broker will use to determine whether there are structural conditions that (1) need to be addressed by the seller or (2) lead you to (a) renegotiate the price or (b) simply move on.

Invaluable services that you get for free!

Note: The terms "buyer's broker," "buyer's agent," and "buyer representative" are used interchangeably on this site. Different locales use different terminology for the same idea: a real estate professional who represents you -- the buyer.