None of us wants to discover construction defects in the new apartment we are about to move into: walls that do not meet the standard, peeling plaster, cracks, sealing problems, leaks, and so on. Nor does anyone want to end up in a legal dispute with a contractor or seller over a home inspection (bedek bayit) that turned up serious problems.
But anyone who does reach that point would rather have photographs: an album documenting the defects found, standing as evidence for their case.
Photographing homes is part of every home inspection
To see why documenting defects matters, start with what a home inspection does when you are buying a new apartment. It is a meticulous, thorough examination that looks for leaks and other problems, such as failures in sealing, electrical work, plumbing, or construction, that the contractor or seller never disclosed, or that are simply hidden from view.
A building can carry defects across the whole range, from the genuinely dangerous (building materials nearing the end of their service life and posing a real risk to residents) to the merely cosmetic, such as uneven plastering.
Before buying, when the stakes and the pressure are already high, buyers want to know exactly what those defects are, so they can plan the right renovation, negotiate with the sellers, or walk away from the deal.
No one wants to buy blind. A home inspection gives a realistic, complete picture of every fault and problem in a structure. As part of it, the company carrying it out photographs the property, so the report delivered at the end is thorough and complete.
Home inspection and home photography: and you're covered
It is a common misconception that anyone with some connection to construction or real estate can carry out a home inspection. In fact, only an engineer who specializes in building inspection is qualified to do it: someone with the professional knowledge and experience, and the right equipment, such as a thermal camera, to find construction defects.
An engineer who inspects a home and documents its defects delivers a detailed report that holds up in court, photographing every problem from multiple angles. That report becomes the basis for negotiation between buyer and seller over the extent of the damage and the repairs needed.
A photo album documenting defects of every severity gives a potential buyer both a true picture of the property's condition and leverage in that negotiation. If the dispute ends up in court, the testimony of the engineer who did the inspection carries real weight. That is why a specialist engineer, and photographs that document defects accurately, matter so much.
The engineers of Arad Bedek Bayit, led by building engineer Ron Arad, whom courts appoint as their own expert on construction defects. The company has been inspecting apartments and buildings since 2001. Engineer Ron Arad · More about the company