Where is a technical inspector looking for when visiting?

If you want to sell a house, it is a legal requirement to have a technical inspection. A technical inspection gives you an overview of the condition of a house. This is incorporated into a structural inspection report and helps you determine whether it is wise to buy a property. This report gives you clarity on the following 3 topics:

The state of a property

All visual aspects of a house are gone through by the structural inspector. It is a "visual inspection" because the owner is not supposed to suffer any damage after this inspection. So what aspects are looked at?

State of the floors, walls and ceilings
Stairs and railings
Sanitary areas
Moisture control
Roofs

This is still only a fraction of the number of checkpoints but this gives an approximate picture. Even for a newly built house, a technical inspection can be useful and has multiple advantages.

Costs

After going through the condition of the house, it is clear what is in what condition. The report also gives you an instant cost estimate of any restoration needed.

Options to make the house more sustainable

Besides getting clarity on the current state of your potential new home, you will also get immediate advice on possible sustainability. Again, you will get a financial overview where you will get clarity on whether it is profitable to make it sustainable or not. Examples of sustainability options:

Insulate walls
Insulating floors
Insulate roof
Insulation window thickness
Solar panels
Living gas-free

Conditions of subsidy

From 1 January 2022, it will be possible to get a 30% refund of the costs you incur to make your home more sustainable through the ISDE (Investeringssubsidie Duurzame Energie). If you want to qualify for this subsidy, you have to insulate 2 or more parts of your house, or 1 part and you also take on a heat pump, solar boiler or connection to the heat network.

If your house has become more sustainable in the meantime, you can apply for a new energy label.

Technical report

As mentioned earlier, a comprehensive report is made with the condition of all parts, any defects, whether anything really needs to be replaced and its cost.

Specialist research

From here, you can decide whether you want to have additional specialist research, such as for example, roof, about condition, pests, whether the foundation is still good and so on.

Benefits of a technical inspection

Independent opinion from an expert

With an architectural report, you get an overview from the independent surveyor. Having this inspection done objectively gives you a strong negotiating position with companies you might hire to restore something.

Conditions precedent

Another advantage of this report is that it can include it as a resolutive condition. This means you can go back on your purchase agreement in writing if the structural survey reveals major issues with the property after it. This makes sense in favor of signing the preliminary sales contract.

Our technical inspectors

Image of technical inspector in yellow safety vest looking through a window

What is a technical inspection?