As everyone knows, buying a home is a major real estate investment – so major, in fact, that it’s essential to take every precaution to ensure you make a wise purchase. You won’t be surprised to learn that this is even truer when you’re looking to buy a multiplex property. Read our article and discover the three options available to you as a real estate investor when it comes to acquiring a new income property.

The purchase of a multiplex building is a very important financial investment, and if a pre-purchase inspection is an essential step when buying a house, this is even truer when buying an income property. A multiplex inspection will enable you, as a real estate investor, to get a better idea of the weaknesses of the building you’re interested in, and what needs to be corrected and/or replaced in the short or medium term. This will make it easier for you, as a real estate investor, to know how much the purchase of the building will actually cost you, once the work has been taken into account.

But depending on the type of investor you are, your own level of building knowledge and your risk tolerance, there are various services available to you, starting with the representative inspection. A representative inspection of a multiplex building involves inspection of the common areas – roofing, siding, common areas and so on – and a sample of a few private units. Typically, a representative multiplex inspection will include the inspection of around 10% of the total number of units.

If you’re a real estate investor looking for a little more security, you’ll opt for a full multiplex building inspection. A complete inspection of an income property gives you a complete picture of the common areas and all accessible dwellings or private units. And we insist on the qualifier accessible, because it’s not always easy to get access to all units, especially in larger buildings. Imagine having to obtain permission from the tenants of a dozen units, from 18, 36, 48 or even more! It can easily become a nightmare…

But if an investor wants to know more precisely how much the purchase of a building will cost him, he’ll add to his inspection service the option of estimating maintenance or replacement work for priority common-area elements. With an inspection and estimate, the investor puts all the odds on his side to make an intelligent and profitable purchase, because he’ll avoid a good number of unpleasant surprises!

But there’s more to choosing the right multiplex inspection service for you: first and foremost, you need to make sure you’re choosing an inspection company that lives up to your expectations. To this end, we’ve put together a short list of selection criteria to consider when choosing a home inspector. You can download our free criteria grid and choose the multiplex inspection company that meets the greatest number of quality criteria. That way, you’ll get the multiplex inspection service of your choice, performed by an inspector you can trust.