After doing a pre purchase moisture detection test on a home in Auckland today, it really drove home the point that letting moisture go undetected behind your wall can cost you big $$$ long term!
In the case of this particular home, the cladding finish had perished around the windows, and water had been finding it’s way into the walls via the ‘gaps’ around the window… and slowly filling the below walls with moisture.
And here’s the part that hurts most…
This was a pre purchase inspection… the home owners, home buyer and real estate agent were all present. As the inspection progressed, we hit a spot on the interior wall below the window that sent the moisture meter reading through the roof! To make matters worse, the issue extended the whole way along the bottom half of the north facing wall. The home owner wasn’t impressed, and the home buyer was impressed! The negotiation power suddenly feel right into the hands of the buyer is this situation.
Who’s to blame here?
The home owner is 100% to blame. If they had a moisture test done years ago, they may have caught the issue early and found the source of the leak. Instead they remained complacent and assumed everything was ok because they couldn’t see any signs of moisture or mould on the interior wall.
The vendor may now end up with a ‘low ball’ offer from the potential buyer, if they make an offer at all. A 1-2 hr moisture test on their home years earlier could have prevented this whole situation. Too many vendors get a rude shock when they find out a contract on their home falls over based on a moisture report… they were so busy counting the equity they ‘thought’ they had, and forgot the basic upkeep on their property in the meantime.
Please don’t let this scenario happen to you and your families future. Call us for a check up today!
