Comments on: Is it a con-do, or a con-don't?

Question: Is it a con-do, or a con-don't?

concreteforest — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 11:02:37 -0800

Well, we've found a condo we want and now we need a good home inspector in the Vancouver/New Westminster BC, Canada area to make sure we aren't buying a lemon..

It's about 20 years old and I'd like to see what's been going on before committing. This is our first home purchase. We've been in town about 3 years but our friends are all renting (have you seen the house prices here?!) so we don't have any recommendations from them.

Does anyone know of a good one in the Vancouver/New Westminster area?

Bonus question: we're planning to do some renovations (knock down one wall, etc), before we move in, any local advice on contractors, suppliers, etc. would also be appreciated.

By: orange swan

orange swan — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 11:39:53 -0800

For a condo purchase one doesn't usually get a home inspection. Prospective owners get the status certificate for the condo corporation, and otherwise just eyeball their own suite. Problems that fall to the owner's responsibility to fix will be cosmetic, or things like replacing appliances.

By: fings

fings — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 12:11:36 -0800

Before purchasing my condo this year, I went to http://www.ashi.org/ , entered my zip, and looked through the available inspectors websites. I contact a few for quotes, and went with one of them.

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:29:13 -0800

I think orange swan is incorrect. Especially considering all of the 'leaky condos' issues we've had in this area, a home inspector is vital.

Friends of ours bought a condo last year and thankfully got it inspected, finding a repair that would have cost >$10k to fix, that ultimately was dropped off the price of the condo. I don't know who inspected it or if they were otherwise any good however.

By: Chuckles

Chuckles — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 14:14:24 -0800

Previously: How necessary is a home inspection when buying a condo?

Vancouver has had a lot of problems with condos and building codes and owners being racked over the coals, so thoroughly checking out your purchase is doubly important in that city.

By: curie

curie — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 14:43:53 -0800

I also disagree with orangeswan. I would definitely get an inspection; your lender may even require you to have one done. When we bought our house, we used an inspector that was recommended by our real estate agent. Have you checked with him/her?

By: russilwvong

russilwvong — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 14:45:27 -0800

When we bought our townhouse back in 2000 we had it inspected by Pierre Lacombe of Metro Home Inspections, recommended by our realtor. He found quite a few issues. Their website seems to have

By: youngergirl44

youngergirl44 — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 17:38:26 -0800

I've heard a lot of news coming from BC about "Leaky Condos". I'm not sure that I fully understand the whole phenomenon, but becuase of this I would certainly recommend getting it inspected - independent of the real estate company or the building association/owner. I've found some information about it here, here, and here. I'm sure you can find more about it by googling the phrase.

By: russilwvong

russilwvong — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 17:53:20 -0800

Their website seems to have--

I hit Post Comment before completing that thought. Oops. What I meant to say was, their website appears to have some general information about home inspections.