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Real Estate News They are Argentines, they invested US$30,000 and created a business to discover “failed” apartments - La Nacion Propiedades

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They are Argentines, they invested US$30,000 and created a business to discover “failed” apartments - La Nacion Propiedades
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June 24, 2024

Five young people became property inspectors and created a business that until now did not exist on the market

Fernando Torres Ullmer


They are Argentines, they invested US$30,000 and created a business to discover “failed” apartments

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Dampness in the walls, one of the main deficiencies of the properties that is difficult to detect if it was covered to conceal it before selling


When buying or renting a property, different specific variables are taken into account, such as price, location, number of rooms, among others. But, what is unknown is that there are critical points in a property that are sometimes not visible to the naked eye. This is what five friends took into account, who spent US$30,000 and created a business that seeks to avoid you getting a “surprise” when purchasing a property . That is why they became allies for the first visits.

In fact, defects are not only found in used properties , but also in brand new apartments or houses.


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Maximiliano Drelichman, Julián Chirom, Gastón Jaffele, Christian Saint Nom and Leandro Rossi created the promising startup

“A person who visits a property without a technician cannot inspect the electrical installation, for example. We can see if there are any ‘bare wires’ or if there is any defect ,” explained Maximiliano Drelichman, co-founder and CEO of CheckHome, the name of the startup. In such a case, Drelichman compares this service with the moment of buying a vehicle, where he usually goes to a mechanic to check the condition of the vehicle.

The young man created the business together with four friends: Maximiliano Drelichman, Julián Chirom, Gastón Jaffele and Christian Saint Nom. The idea had come from the thesis that Leandro Rossi presented when he graduated from engineering. “I had presented it 10 years ago and I was never able to carry it out until I mentioned it to my neighbor Gastón, another of the people who ended up being a partner,” says Rossi, about the beginnings of the project that started a year ago but was only launched in March of this year.


The weak points of the departments​

After three months of inspecting more than 12,000 m² , they discovered that the areas with the greatest number of defects were:



  • Non-visible moisture
  • Electrical operation
  • Faults or errors in slopes or floor leveling
  • Problems of differences regarding the footage of the property in the deed versus the actual footage
  • General conditions: state of paint, how the taps are placed and doors that do not close properly
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Electrical malfunctions are the most common in apartmentsFreepik

While these are the most common faults found in inspections, what are the more than 200 critical points ? To begin with, the critical points to review are: the measurement of the surface of the rooms, because inconsistencies are often found between what is written and what the interested party finds in the property, the measurement of annoying noises because excessive noise can negatively affect physical and mental well-being, cause stress and difficulty resting.


When it comes to numbers, Maximiliano explains that the inspection of a 90 m² property costs around US$300, while for one between 90 m² and 150 m², US$350 and for those larger than 150 m², US$450. The entrepreneur also refers to the most sensitive areas; “In the kitchen, you have to inquire about the floor, the leveling, the state of the plumbing, the drain, the state of the kitchen to make sure there are no gas or carbon monoxide leaks , especially in a context where there are strong rate increases ,” explained the co-founder of CheckHome.

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Dampness in the walls is a problem that can be concealed but it is important to detect it.



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Annoying noises from an apartment are another problem that must be detected before deciding on the purchase.

In the bathroom, what is usually identified is visible or non-visible humidity up to very specific things such as the lack of placement of the siphon in the bathroom sink or placement of a plug close to where the water outlet is.

On the other hand, he acknowledges that although buildings may have all kinds of faults, the most expensive to repair are:

  • Non-visible and visible moisture
  • Electrical faults (on dashboards, faulty cables and/or non-functioning sockets)
  • Heating system (radiant floor heating not working)


www.buysellba.com
 
I just met the Founders and owners of CheckHome. Maximiliano Drelichman and Julian Chirom. Super sharp guys and small world we happen to have good friends in common.

We use their company on all property inspections for properties that we purchase for our clients and they do a great job. It's amazing that Argentina doesn't have the culture to do property inspections but all foreigners get them. This should change in Argentina as mortgages become more and more common.

I'm always amazed someone will spend a few hundred dollars to get a junky $15,000 used car look at but won't spend the same amount of money getting a property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars inspected.

 
I wish this service was around when I bought my place. I had an architect friend take a look at my place before I bought it but it was really just glancing at it. I live in an old building in Recoleta and after I bought it I discovered there was a gas leak. Luckily I installed a carbon monoxide detector and the alarm went off. It would have been nice to see it. I also had a leak in the wall that the previous owner just fixed and painted over.

I just saw their website and seems like a small price to pay.
 
Another reason why I decided to buy new. With limited resources for inspection, who knows what you're buying. I get the sense many sellers will just cover up or shoddily do repairs as opposed to properly fixing it. "Atar con alambre" I believe is the phrase. I hope these guys the best in creating a market that's needed.
 
Good for them! Home inspection is a standard thing in the US. It's definitely a plus for buyers. I hope they make a million USD and start a whole new industry there.
I just figured people got home inspections everywhere. Strange as it's all cash isn't it when you buy? Do home warranties exist there? This sounds like a smart idea if it did not exist. @earlyretirement who did you use before for these??
Another reason why I decided to buy new. With limited resources for inspection, who knows what you're buying. I get the sense many sellers will just cover up or shoddily do repairs as opposed to properly fixing it. "Atar con alambre" I believe is the phrase. I hope these guys the best in creating a market that's needed.
But even if it is new construction couldn't you have the same issues? Do people get inspections on new construction too?
 
Good for them! Home inspection is a standard thing in the US. It's definitely a plus for buyers. I hope they make a million USD and start a whole new industry there.
I agree about home inspections. I have been doing these since 2002 when I bought my first unit here. NO ONE offered it so I had to basically train architects and show them what I wanted and what I wanted to check for. I also was renovating most of the units and I needed a to-scale floor plan to estimate how much it would cost to renovate it. These guys are indeed starting the industry here which is great.

I wish this service was around when I bought my place. I had an architect friend take a look at my place before I bought it but it was really just glancing at it. I live in an old building in Recoleta and after I bought it I discovered there was a gas leak. Luckily I installed a carbon monoxide detector and the alarm went off. It would have been nice to see it. I also had a leak in the wall that the previous owner just fixed and painted over.

I just saw their website and seems like a small price to pay.
The people looking before were not good for the most part. I had to really train them but back then you don't have the technology you have now that can measure temperature changes if there are humidity and owners are just painting over damaged areas. Technology is an amazing thing now.

Another reason why I decided to buy new. With limited resources for inspection, who knows what you're buying. I get the sense many sellers will just cover up or shoddily do repairs as opposed to properly fixing it. "Atar con alambre" I believe is the phrase. I hope these guys the best in creating a market that's needed.
But even new construction with shoddy developers can be problematic. In fact, these guys with Check Home happen to be really good friends with one of the Partners with a development company I work with quite a bit. They use them sometimes on projects. You can't assume just because it is new construction that there are not issues.
I just figured people got home inspections everywhere. Strange as it's all cash isn't it when you buy? Do home warranties exist there? This sounds like a smart idea if it did not exist. @earlyretirement who did you use before for these??

But even if it is new construction couldn't you have the same issues? Do people get inspections on new construction too?
No, there are not home warranties here. When I first moved here and started buying up tons of real estate after the corralito in 2002 I trained architects what to do to check gas leaks, humidity damage, electrical and plumbing issues but the technology now allows for much more. I was so happy when I saw these guys start-up last year,.
 
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