Buying a home without a leak detection inspection is very risky these days.
Recently in South Auckland I did a post purchase thermal imaging leak test on a home… what a result! (see photo below)
Why was it a ‘post’ purchase inspection, rather than a ‘pre’ purchase inspection? Can you believe the seller wouldn’t let the potential buyers inside to inspect the home prior to purchase… ‘because it was a mortgagee sale!’
This was a shambles… the price of the property was ‘to good to refuse’, so the buyer got emotional and went ahead and purchased the house anyway. 4 days later I get a call to come a check the house for leaks.
You can clearly see the leak in this image below because you’re looking at it through the eyes of an infrared camera…. but could the human eye see it? No.
There was a bathroom directly above this area which is the primary suspect. In this case, the plumber will most likely break the gib open on the garage ceiling and repair the leak(s) from underneath.
If you are prepared to buy a home in NZ without testing for leaks first, then you’re clearly taking a big risk. This one should be easy to fix… but, the sale price may have been lower had this issue been discovered prior to handing over the $$$.
