The Best Value Building Inspector Vs. The Cheapest! Know The Difference
When it comes to purchasing an investment property or a home you are seriously considering moving into yourself, securing the best value building inspector and not necessarily the cheapest is going to save you in the long run. It goes without saying that homebuyers and investors should always seek to obtain an independent pre-purchase inspection report even if the property is new. Choosing the right person to inspect the property you have your eye on matters. Let’s see why!
Credentials and experience counts
When you are looking for a reputable independent building inspector, make sure you enquire about their qualifications, experience and credentials. Hiring a professional to undertake the job will ensure the report prepared and presented to you following the inspection is not only thorough but also complete, with detailed content that complies with the appropriate Australian standards. Make sure that your chosen building inspector also has an appropriate level of professional indemnity insurance.
Where possible utilise the services of an inspector who is a member of a reputable building association, such as Master Builders Australia, due to the need for all associated professionals to act in accordance with a code of conduct. You’ll find that their depth of practical experience will guarantee that any strategically hidden spots in and around the home will stand out.
Worst case scenarios are regularly seen when homebuyers or investors employ an inspector that comes with the least expensive price tag, and many faults are missed due to their untrained eye. Opting for an unregistered, inexperienced and unqualified inspector can have quite severe implications.
A thorough inspection pays for itself
A building inspector who has a highly valued reputation and appropriate qualifications will be no match for a quick coat of paint or over use of gap fillers used in and around windows, door and to fill cracks in walls. Such attempts at deception may go unnoticed by someone without the experience, but not to a reputable business such as Action Property Inspections. A fresh coat of paint, newly manicured garden or even styled home furnishings will not mask problems in the home. A building report presented to you at the completion of their inspection will be detailed and guaranteed to cover everything you need to know. From a visual inspection of the façade of a property, to the internal areas, plus any structural concerns, faulty extensions, safety hazards and even probable maintenance issues – it’s all there on paper.
On the outside, a home is inspected in significant detail covering all external walls, painted surfaces, fascias and eaves, any pergolas or decking as well as drains, gutters and even fly screens. In addition to inspecting the allotment itself and both the interior and exterior areas of the roof, the internal aspects of the home will be given a thorough once over. Looking closely at the kitchen and bathroom as well as general walls, floors, fixtures and fittings, you can be confident that any faults that are present will be picked up. This is where it really does pay to hire the best value building inspector and not a cheaper alternative.
Action Property Inspections also uses the latest thermal image cameras that cleverly pick up any additional faults that may go unnoticed to the naked eye. For your comfort, your inspector will take a range of digital colour images that act as an official record of the condition of the home before you purchase it.
These are just some of the reasons why it pays to use a building inspector that knows what they are doing! A less experienced inspector may gloss over a property and end up costing you a small fortune in unexpected repairs that rear their head long after you have signed on the dotted line.
Bargaining power of a pre-purchase inspection report
What you may not have considered is that a pre-purchase building inspection when carried out by a reputable team does not just work to protect you from unexpected problems that can arise, but can actually work to your advantage. The report becomes a fabulous negotiating tool. When prepared by an independent business, and not via the real estate agent or the vendors themselves, you can confidently use it to bargain the price down on a property you are keen on.
Report findings become your future maintenance plan
Being forewarned is forearmed. An easy to understand individualised inspection report such as the detailed list of findings presented to you by Action Property Inspections will not only outline the exact nature of the faults found but also give you an indication of the financial outlay needed to address them.
Such is the nature of this honest, independent report that it can work in your favour and act as a future maintenance plan. It’s a checklist, if you will, outlining some quick fixes and even problems which are rather minor in nature but still worth looking at down the track when your finances allow for it.
On the flip side, it is unfortunate that many inexperienced building inspection companies rely on pre-defined software. This means your report will not be tailored to your unique property, but more of a ‘tick and flick’ standard form.
When you are seeking to organise a building inspection for a property you are looking to buy or invest in, it pays to avoid the cheaper alternatives. Skimping on qualifications, experience and reputation can leave you with an enormous problem if you proceed with the purchase. For a relatively small price, choosing the best value building inspector by utilising the services of Action Property Inspections will give you peace of mind.
Worse still you could do nothing and avoid organising a pre-purchase inspection at all. This is arguably the biggest mistake you could make. It’s like buying blindfolded! Invisible building defects, structural problems and even unauthorised renovations and extensions are a nightmare waiting to be uncovered.