There are so many things you need to organise when you purchase a property, and many buyers become quite overwhelmed with all of the paperwork, and coordinating their move.
Mistakes can be made, and you might be surprised if you knew how many people forget to do a thorough inspection before settlement.
By thorough inspection, I don’t mean turning the lights on and off and looking for marks on the wall.
The biggest mistake that many buyers make at the last hurdle, is forgetting to measure the boundaries of the property to check that everything is correct.
You might think that this isn’t really a big deal – who cares if the neighbour has a few centimetres of your back yard? Well sometimes it can make or break you financially, and cause an enormous amount of stress and conflict in your life.
Meet the Wilsons:
The Wilson family discovered the importance of checking boundaries when they moved from their 3 bedroom townhouse to a house with a big backyard in Fremantle last year. It was a hectic time for everyone, and it wasn’t easy packing up the house with a baby and a toddler to think about.
When the Wilsons did their final inspection, everything looked to be in order. The vendors had left the house wonderfully clean which was very helpful. They even mowed the lawns and replaced some of the light bulbs. The couple had forgotten to borrow a measuring wheel but they took a couple of minutes to count their paces along the boundary line to see that the title was correct.
It wasn’t until several months later that the family was confronted by their new neighbour on the left. He’d been measuring his block to get a planning permit through the council for a possible home extension.
In the process, he discovered that the Wilson’s garage on the edge of their property was actually built over 1.5 metres of his land.
What followed was a lengthy legal battle which was expensive and stressful for all parties.
In the end, the Wilsons were forced to tear down one side of their garage and make alterations to reduce its size. They also had to remove and rebuild the fence along the left boundary of their property.
This is a great example of why it’s so important to do your research when you buy a property, and avoid ending up in a similar situation.