Hello ef!



i'm going to see a house and because i'm so naive i want to take along an expert.



thanks for any help

This is incredibly informative, congratulations !

I can do this, I've been looking at houses all my life, I've had a lot of days where I've seen many thousands of them, I even am living in one.

FRIDAY YEAH

Start with your bank perhaps.

This is where we started. Ask the bank to recommend someone local. Local is everything in villages like mine, YMMV.

Back when we bought our house, years ago, there were not official appraisers as we knew them in the US. Rather, the bank had a list of architects they used for inspections. I don't know if in the intervening years this has changed.

Our experience:

The architect was better than nothing, but still fell many miles short of the kind of structural and system appraisal I was used to having done. Perhaps this guy was simply bad at it, but he clearly was more interested in design renovation (and selling his architectual services) than in assessing the structural soundness of the house. He did not communicate much knowledge of electrical systems, plumbing, or other 'mundane' bricks and mortar issues.

But better than nothing. From past EF posts, it seems that inspections are generally done by architects, and there are indeed architects competent to do so.

If you start with your bank at least you are getting someone who checks their boxes, an important thing as they have the largest financial interest in making sure the house is still standing a few years down the road.

We paid ca. 1500 for the inspection - but as above, this was 15 years ago. I have no idea what prices are today.

One other point - it is not mandatory, nor even common, to have an inspection done. Crazy, as you are making a multi million franc investment in shark filled waters - why wouldn't one do due diligence?

But as they are still not all that common, some sellers are cadgey about having an inspection done, and some even go so far as to forbid one. Some only allow an inspection after the reservation contract is signed, if that is the case with the house you are interested in make sure you include a get-out clause in your offer.

(A cadgey seller is usually a sign that something is very wrong - put on your running shoes.)

Our sellers were not happy when we proposed the inspection and threatened to cancel the Vorkontrakt. We called their bluff, ready to walk, and they relented. You might need to be prepared to do so too.

Just be aware that the level of protection a buyer expects in other countries is not the norm here. A property purchase really, truly, is caveat emptor. There be dragons.

ETA:

Just re-read your post. Are you seeing the house for the first time, have not yet made an offer? If so, are you looking for something less formal than an inspection? If that is the case, bring along an architect or Bauleiter as a 'friend'.

Make sure you ask what the visit will cost you - and be aware that the architect or Bauleiter just might decide to bid on the house for him- or herself if it turns out to be a good property. That is always a risk whenever you bring a third party into a property deal before signing a reservation contract. Again, there be dragons.

hi meloncollie, thanks so much for your really interesting reply. also, apols everyone for the late reply. thanks again though, i wonder why it is the the levels of buyer protection in switzerland are not so great.

Quite simply because in Switzerland we rely a lot on self-responsibility instead of having the government wiping our arses all day long with reams of useless legislation,


Buyer protection is fine in Switzerland, but you do need to take your responsabilites as well.

In case OP is still looking for someone, we used https://www.immoleute.ch/en/ a few years for a couple of properties. Oliver was the guy we had and he was great. The company was recommended to us by UBS.

If I remember correctly, they have two different levels of services - a smaller package which focuses more on helping the buyers know what price the property is worth (on-site visit/inspections, but no inspections beyond what the naked eyes can see) and a larger package which includes more of the technical inspections you would get in the US.

Good luck!

It's worth noting that getting an expert valuation done is quite common nowadays, but that it's not a structural survey, which I presume is what the USAian posters are alluding to.

So you'll get a lot of information about the property, restrictions and obligations (e.g. rights of way for neighbours), "official" rental values and usually two valuations, one a "market rate" and the other a "hedonistic" value, reflecting anything that may be of special interest to certain buyers.

You'll also get comments on the latest renovations and state of repair of windows, roof, floors, etc., but these will only be based on what is visibly evident, but will be taken into account in the valuation, which may also give a projected value if repairs are made.

I'd certainly recommend a buyer to do this, but also as a seller it engenders trust from potential buyers if you can be open and honest about valuation reports, so they won't need to get one done themselves.