What to look for when accepting an apartment: expert advice

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Because one out of five apartments in new buildings either has complaints or is not accepted at all, the buyer and tenant need to know well what to look for when accepting an apartment. More and more interesting projects are offered on the housing market, but the overall impression should not be allowed to prevail over the attention to detail. Almost always, buyers are left alone with their claims to the quality of construction. These are cracks in the walls, and various irregularities, and ill-fitting window frames, and it even happens that people who are anticipating the happiness of a housewarming do not notice the absence of counters. That is why information is needed on what to look for when accepting an apartment.

Advice for equity holders

When permission for commissioning is received (and the developer is obliged to notify the equity holders at least a month in advance), future new settlers go to take their apartments. In their hands they have a registered letter with a mandatory list of attachmentsand a notice addressed to each of the participants in shared construction. Now I should think about what to pay attention to when accepting an apartment, but the events are so joyful, so exciting! The developer called with congratulations, all the relatives have already read the relevant news published by him on the website. And now the day of the transfer of ownership is already known, on which the happy owner of the new apartment was recorded. And what was the most important thing to pay attention to when accepting an apartment for a shareholder? Ah, the views from the bedroom window!

But we better not mock people whose hopes seem to come true. They have been waiting for this moment for a long time. But, most likely, it will happen that you have to wait a little longer. Unless, of course, they receive timely assistance in accepting an apartment in a new building from real specialists with keen eyes and a cold mind. And, of course, there are such specialists. You will probably have to wait, and this is good, although it is rather tiring.

In addition to monitoring the construction process, equity holders were waiting in line for the transfer of apartments. This usually takes many months. They are currently building on a large scale, sometimes even more than one building is rented out at the same time, and therefore someone is invited to acceptance earlier, someone will receive their keys later, usually this is what happens. And most importantly - do not lose your head with joy, but on the contrary - take care to find specialists who can provide effective assistance in accepting an apartment in a new building.

Don't forget your documents

For acceptance, you must take with you an agreement onequity participation and passport. In cases where the interests of the buyer are protected by another person, a power of attorney certified by a notary will be required. If the management company expects to receive an advance payment for utilities immediately after acceptance, the future tenant is notified of this in advance. There is a law according to which the first installment is taken immediately for the first four months, this is a necessary measure so that the management company initially has something to work with.

From the moment the house is put into operation, time will flow quickly, and there are time limits when an apartment can and should be accepted. If more than two months pass after receiving the notification, and the shareholder has not appeared to sign the act of acceptance of the apartment, the developer has the right to draw up this document alone, and the acceptance and transfer will be considered completed, despite the unilateral procedure for this event. This is the worst, because in this case, the tenant will correct all the existing shortcomings at his own expense.

Terms of acceptance

The tenant has the right to inspect and study construction defects a little longer than a week - seven working days, then he must accept the apartment or make specific objections. If you have to accept an apartment without finishing, the whole procedure rarely takes more than half an hour. You need to inspect the connection of electricity, water and heating, the quality of installation of doors and windows. If finishing is provided, then there is something to study when accepting an apartment. But even in this case, it is unlikely that the entire unprofessional inspection will take more than two hours. Bad if within seven daysthe shareholder will not show any activity and will not show up. The developer himself draws up a contract for the sale of an apartment and an act of acceptance and transfer. And the law will consider his own obligations fulfilled. We must not forget that the developer not only gives the keys to his client, but also all the documents for the meters, the instruction manual for this apartment and the wiring plan.

Usually the client inspects the new housing on his own, does not notice much and calmly signs the act of acceptance and transfer, after which he receives the coveted keys. And it would be right to do otherwise. You definitely need a specialist in the acceptance of apartments in a new building. As many as two such professionals will be present there, but these are interested parties - both a representative of the developer and a representative of the management company. Even if they know about any problems, they are unlikely to warn an ignorant client about this. In addition to detecting flaws in the quality of construction, a specialist can also help in mutual settlements, which will also need to be signed by a special act. BTI has already made all the measurements by this moment, and if the area turned out to be larger, the client is obliged to pay extra, and if it is less, the funds due to him are returned to the current account.

Attention to every detail

First of all, it is necessary to check all concrete structures and the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe walls. Attention to the floor screed, assembly joints and seams. There should be no cracks or irregularities on the surfaces. The height of the ceiling sometimes does not correspond to the indicator declared in the project, and this also needs to be checked. Better,if there is a professional acceptance of the apartment. Although, almost everyone can check the integrity of door and window structures and the quality of installation: the locks of the hinges and handles should work freely. There may be cracks on balconies and windows, damage to glass, mechanisms when opening and closing, there are often gaps left by builders between walls and windows.

An apartment acceptance expert can be invited from any agency, they can check all engineering communications with high quality, which an ordinary person most often cannot cope with. Nothing should be overlooked: the fasteners of sockets, their performance, even the operation of the bell must be checked. In addition, the voltage and strength of the electric current that is supplied to the network is measured. The act of acceptance of the apartment from the developer is signed only after the operation of all meters and stopcocks has been checked, the presence of thermal insulation on the pipes has been established, and the correct location of the sewer tees in the kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. The heating system, ventilation are especially carefully checked, as well as the entrance, everything installed in the stairwell and in the room, including fire alarm devices.

If the apartment is finished

This knowledge is necessary for both equity holders and those who arrange the rental of apartments from the owner. If the apartment is finished, there are much more objects to be thoroughly checked. These are wall and floor coverings, wallpaper, plumbing and the like, in a word - everything that is in the room. Acceptance of a new apartmentwell worth taking the time to check it out. The technical description of the object (in the DDU) indicates absolutely exactly what material should be made of. For example, a steel or wooden door, what class of flooring, as well as many other details. You need to check everything, referring to this list, any discrepancy must be established before it's too late, because only now you can get a reason not to sign the act.

If the shortcomings cannot be eliminated under any circumstances (for example, the height of the ceiling does not match), the equity participation agreement can also be terminated with a requirement to return not only the money paid, but also interest. Such irreparable things rarely occur, although the state commission must, due to gross violations, reject the building at the inspection stage. And the buyer may not see such a flaw if permission to put the building into operation is still received. For example, it happens that a customer finds a swollen, uneven floor during acceptance. Apparently, the laminate was not laid according to the rules. This defect can be fixed quickly. But with ceilings, this will not work. Sometimes, even with improperly installed sewer pipes, troubleshooting is not completely possible.

Why an expert is needed

The accepted apartment must comply with SNiPs and the contract. Compliance must be checked with knowledge of all the rules and regulations, have not only special skills, but also the appropriate equipment, and it is not so important whether it is buying or renting an apartment from the owner. Like a norm althe shareholder will check the curvature of the walls, for example? Or ceilings? Only "by eye" or by any improvised means. By the way, future tenants are generally frivolous about the uneven walls of an apartment without finishing, hoping to level them during repairs. However, specialists with a professional measuring device can detect the absence of right angles, which is very, very important, but it happens not so rarely. With such walls, neither install the kitchen, nor lay the floor normally, nor the baseboard. Fixing this is expensive, in one room repairs can result in a hundred thousand. And if such a defect is identified at the time of acceptance, the developer will eliminate it, therefore - a huge savings.

There are many firms that provide expert services. There are such specialists in some major real estate agencies. The inspection is not too cheap, but the subsequent repair will take much more. Therefore, it is better to involve experts with the appropriate equipment in the acceptance. They will check the accuracy of the area of the entire apartment, assess the quality of construction, and identify all defects. You can even measure the radiation background, air humidity, check drafts with a thermal imager and the absence of places that can freeze in winter, the draft of ventilation ducts is also checked, joints are studied. A specialist can do all this with the help of laser and ultrasonic rangefinders, special plumb lines, levels, anemometers, and the like. After an expert check, a documentary report is prepared, confirmed by photographs.

Checklistacceptance of the apartment

People always move to a new building with joy, forgetting many of the rules that must be observed during the acceptance of new housing. All items on this checklist must be completed. Firstly, it is necessary to conduct an inspection only during the day, during daylight hours, since it is simply impossible to see many details at dusk, it is also difficult to do this with electric light.

Secondly, you have to evaluate your entrance from all sides: cracked coating, broken tiles should immediately alert the client, since this is the first sign that the developer is not attentive enough to quality. You need to entrust the inspection to an independent expert equipped with equipment. He has the right to draw up an official conclusion listing the identified shortcomings, present justified claims with reference to the standards and building codes currently in force.

Careful inspection of the checklist

Doors and windows should be inspected especially carefully, they should close and open tightly without effort. Interior doors and windows also need to be inspected carefully - unnoticed chips and scratches occur, and holes and crevices that are not well sealed with sealant can subsequently be affected by fungus and mold. The ceiling height is measured with a tape measure in all corners, and the evenness of the walls and ceiling is measured by a building level or plumb line. In the same way, the floor is examined. All sockets and switches are checked if the developer has declared their presence. They must be on the samelevel, do not fall out and do not hang out. Electricity supply is checked to all future sources. Ventilation requires special attention. If something is wrong with her, any problem is solved very difficult. It is better if the developer eliminates the shortcomings before signing the acceptance certificate.

You need to check the plumbing and sewerage. There should be no moisture or rust anywhere, and shut-off regulators and valves should work perfectly, turn easily, and lock securely. The heated towel rail must be stable, not stagger. Particular attention is paid to finishing materials, if any. Everything must comply with the contract. Identified defects are recorded in the inspection sheet (otherwise it is called a claims sheet or a defective sheet). Now the developer will eliminate the shortcomings, and he must do this in about a month and a half. If there are no shortcomings, the acceptance certificate can be signed.

If defects are found

As re altors write in reviews, eighty percent of cases of inspection by equity holders of new buildings go smoothly, acts are signed without complaints, because many do not understand what to look for when accepting an apartment. However, this does not mean that later defects will not be discovered during the direct operation of housing, when it is already difficult to prove anything and it is almost impossible to fight for the developer to correct defects or inaccuracies. If deficiencies are found before signing the transfer act, the shareholder may demand either the elimination of errors by the developer, or a reduction in the contract price, or reimbursement of those costs that the shareholderincur for self-repair.

A defective statement is filled out on the detected shortcomings, the shareholder writes a statement with a list of claims, after which the management company starts work to eliminate the shortcomings. These can be crooked walls, broken windows, gaps in someone else's apartment, defects in the floor, doors, broken meters, a littered apartment, and the like. These are all fairly common remarks. In the future, even such shortcomings will be very difficult to eliminate, although the shareholder still has the right to make claims. He can do this at any time for the whole three years while he is operating the apartment. There is a guarantee given by the developer: for the construction of the building itself - five years, for engineering and technical equipment - three years.

Operating instructions

In the package of documents that the shareholder receives when transferring an apartment from the developer, there is an instruction with the conditions and rules for operating this object, with service life and a list of warranty points. This applies not only to the apartment, but also to all the equipment included in it, even heating radiators and windows are warranty items. This is a very important document that defines obligations. If the apartment or equipment has been misused, the tenant will be denied warranty repairs.

For example, load-bearing structures and facades, roofing, walls, double-glazed windows and the like have a five-year warranty period. And heating, ventilation, gas, water and electricity supply systems, elevators and garbage chutes - onlythree. The developer can prescribe a longer or shorter period, but this rarely happens. The countdown of the warranty period begins after the signing of the act of transfer, which is why the period expires for all tenants in different ways. If the developer does not fulfill its obligations, you need to refer to the law. In court, the side of equity holders most often wins, which is why developers do not risk bringing the case to trial and properly respond to claims made by residents.