Are Inspections Necessary when Buying a Condo?

By Melissa & Denise Stewart

One of the questions that all buyers seem to ask their Realtor when buying a condo is whether or not the Buyer should order and pay for an inspection when buying a condo... A lot of buyers simply think that writing a check for an inspection is a waste of money, and nothing can be further from the truth!!!

Consider this:

- The purchase of the condo may be the single largest purchase (or investment) that you may be making for 10 years

- There are at least 10 different issues that if either one of them are problems, could cost you thousands of dollars

- There are some Sellers out in the real world that would actually be hiding defects from you as a buyer

- Professional inspectors are paid not just to find issues that may need immediate repair, but they also are there to advise you about items that may need to be repaired or replaced in the forseeable future.

Inspection of condos, at least condos in South Florida, can actually save you money, especially for wind insurance purposes. The inspection company should be asked to do a wind mitigation inspection to confirm if the condo, including the roof of the building, complies with the wind storm criteria established by the insurance industry. The charge for this additional Wind Mitigation Inspection is nominal, usually less than $150, and will absolutely save you on your insurance premiums.

As far as the regular property inspections that are done on condos in South Florida, the components of the inspection generally include the exterior, interior walls, flooring, ceilings, plumbing, electrical, air conditioning and heating, water heater, windows, doors, appliances, locks, screens, lighting fixtures, toilets, sinks, smoke detectors, garbage disposals, trash compactors, drains, and any porches or other portions of the condo unit. Generally the inspector will not be doing a mold inspection, but most inspectors are trained to spot indications of mold which will or should trigger an actual mold inspection to confirm if mold is present. There have been instances when an inspection has revealed indications of mold and after  more thorough testing, mold has been found and the expense can range in the thousands to over $100,000 depending on the degree of mold irradication is necessary. 

Recently in several condos in a building located in Miami, there were indications that there may be issues with the condos having electrical issues, and after a fire in one of the units, the local fire inspector condemed the entire building leaving over 30 condo owners without living accomodations, and mortgage payments to make. In cases like this there are generally issues of fraud and non-disclosure brought by buyers against sellers, lenders, inspection companys, Realtors, and anyone else that could have had knowledge of the issues involved.

Most inspection companies that perform inspections for condos in South Florida will only be able to inspect the portions of the condo that are visible at the time of the inspection, which is why an inspection is not a guaranty that no problems exist. This is why you need an inspector with a lot of experience that can spot issues, especially with older condos that may have defects that are simply hard to detect. If you are buying a conso that is over 40 years old and has not gone through a mandated 40 year inspection, this causes an entire separate area of concern becuase this may result in a special assessment to bring the building up to compliance. The bottom line is that you need to ask about the 40 year inspection. 

One of the best things that you can do as a buyer of a condo is to meet with the inspector and have them actually go over and explain the inspection report because there may be items that sound a lot worse than they actually are. If you see that there are items that are old, that does not mean that you have to immediately replace them, because some of the appliances or other items can long outlive their expected useful lives.

The bottom line is that unless you are going to gut the entire condo and do a total rehab, you should order an inspection, and if there is nothing wrong, feel good about your decission.

If you have any questions about buying a condo in South Florida, please contact Denis Stewart at 954 881 9148 or denise@condo.net.