Swiss House Survey After House Purchase Hidden defects after house purchase, Verborgen gebreken na aankoop van een huis, Dolda fel efter husköp, 住宅購入後の隠 れた欠陥, Vices cachés après l'achat d'une maison, Versteckte Mängel nach dem Hauskauf, Скрытые дефекты после покупки дома, 购房后隐藏的缺陷 Hidden Defects Inspection after Property Purchase Zero risk does not exist in construction, and every property has potential weak points. Buying a house or other real estate without an inspection is like purchasing a used car that has never been appraised. The House Survey / Inspection for hidden defects typically occurs after the new owner moves in. Within days, the first anomalies often become apparent: persistent bad odors despite cleaning, tiles gradually peeling or making noise, cracks appearing and worsening, mold developing during the first winter, peeling paint, water infiltrations, and other defects. Features of Hidden Defects: • They are not visible during the house viewing. • They may be concealed by the previous owner, who doesn’t consider them serious. • The real estate agent may overlook them, often because they are not informed. • The new owner usually lacks construction knowledge and the technical language to identify significant defects during the visit. • Hidden defects often existed long before the property was sold. If this hidden defect had been disclosed to the buyer, it would have allowed a fair negotiation of the sale price to cover the costs of proper repairs by qualified craftsmen. Discovering such a defect only after the real estate transaction is an unpleasant experience for the new owner. The simplest and most cost-effective solution is to reach an amicable agreement between the former and the new owner, whereby the seller contributes to the repair costs and appropriate compensation. A Swiss Home Survey with a written report is designed to serve as evidence in court proceedings arising from disputes between buyer and seller following a real estate transaction. Court rulings are often strict toward the party found responsible—almost always the seller. The former owner may face serious consequences, as judgments typically involve substantial administrative fees, costly repairs, and significant compensation payments. Our role is to help you identify technical problems that reduce a property’s usability, diminish its value, or pose risks to occupant safety. We provide a comprehensive survey report, including professional recommendations for remediation or replacement of defective elements.

Hidden Defects (Latent Defects) Hidden defects are property deficiencies that were not detectable through ordinary inspection at the time of signing the purchase contract. Statutory Liability Periods (Swiss Code of Obligations): • 2 years for ordinary hidden defects, • 5 years for defects in construction work, • 10 years for defects that were fraudulently concealed by the seller.