As a building settles on its foundations, there can be significant knock-on effects on its structure and finish. Problems can range from major shifts of the building’s structure, to a cupboard sticking or drains not working. Identifying faults and getting them rectified before you complete a property purchase is called ‘snagging’.
Snagging is a normal and expected part of the building process. You could do it yourself, but are you experienced, qualified and equipped to do it properly? Are you experienced enough to notice that the electricity is only on the builder's supply running at 180 volts, and not the normal 230-250 volts. Have you got a damp meter, can you test for earth bonding? Do you have any idea what earth bonding is?
The other alternative is to leave the process to the sales agent, promoter or builder. The bad news is that all of these interested parties probably just want to get you to part with your money as soon as possible. You will then be on your own to try and negotiate fixes once you've signed for the property. Not all agents or builders are rip-off merchants or cowboys; many are responsible and responsive, as their business relies on their reputation. Even with the good guys, someone has to be there to say, “This is not right!” in order to get it fixed in the first place.
So what does snagging find?
It is estimated that over 40 per cent of new houses are professionally snagged. For a typical three bedroom, two bathroom house, there may be 650 different points or more in the building and its surrounding area that need checking. This process is not the same as a ‘survey’ which consists of checking the underlying structure of the building. Snagging checks that the building is fit for habitation and fits its specification, being as near to perfect as possible. Snaggers typically advise 26 per cent of their clients not to complete due to problems on inspection. Prices for this service depends on the size of the property. If you consider buying a property, this is a small price to pay, when you consider this cost against the bill for flights, hotels, car hire and emotional trauma of your dream home not being ready.
A survey of new builds showed the following distribution of problems: - 57% of faults detected in new builds were about damp! Yes damp; be it rising damp from the ground or poorly insulated walls and ceilings or lack of ventilation.
- 21% for inappropriate fitting of fixed elements such as radiators, toilets, etc.
- 18% for faults found with wooden flooring.
- 15% of faults with poor insulation.
- 10% concerning garages or parking spaces that were inaccessible or impossible to use.
- 7% of faults were from poor tiling.
- 5% regarding build locations that were not indicated on the plans, or had undesirable or unforeseen consequences.
- 3% of faults found were to do with poor paintwork or scratched fittings.
- 1% of complaints are about unexpected interior changes to the distribution of relevant spaces such as the elimination of a bedroom or a room of different dimensions!
Once a house or apartment is nearing completion, the agent/promoter/developer will usually contact you to arrange an inspection. You arrive and inspect the property as best you can. Often, the agent and a couple of builders will be peering over your shoulder and your comments may be accompanied with sharp intakes of breath, head shaking and shrugging of shoulders. You will then be presented with a snag list in Spanish and asked to sign it. You may not understand it properly, and the agent may tell you all is in order and the things you have pointed out will be fixed. You then discover you are booked into the notary to complete the purchase of the property that afternoon or the next day. This leaves no time for any of the snags to have been rectified before you complete. Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it?
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Mauritius 
