Hi guys,

I'm going through the process of buying an apartment in Kunming.

I am wondering if any other purchasers of property did an inspection for structural soundness of the building before purchase?

If so, who did you use? Would appreciate any information or contact details. Thanks in advance

While slightly off the subject I would strongly suggest that any specifications or agreements you have, be done with proper legal help and advice. Buying or selling any property has risks that can be mitigated with proper contracts. Not completely. Seeking an enginnering company to confirm that what was built using the existing blueprints could be quite expensive.

We were put in touch with an engineer buy Purapple decor company. I think they saw this as an opportunity to generate some business.
I can't remember the contact details for the engineer. It cost about 3000 but he actually did very little. But if you were buying a used property he may be able to spot major problems. e.g. people love to tear down walls here, some of them can be bearing walls. Now that I would want to know about.

I'm an architect in California. Just want to point out that Kunming is in a fairly active seismic zone. I would advise you to also ask the engineer or inspector to look for any signs of differential settlements. My parents send me picture of their apartment with sagging balconies that can be extremely hazardous. Other things to look for include proper anchorage of large structural or building component. For example, are large glass sliding doors properly attached to floor and ceiling? You don't want them to fall on you during seismic event. To the best if my knowledge, Chinese architect and structural engineers need to be licensed. Be sure to ask for that too.