It is vitally important that the Building and Pest Inspection clause be completed in the REIQ contract.
Are all dates filled in?
If the dates are left blank then the contract may not be subject to Building and Pest Inspections.
Unless advised by your solicitor, the standard clause for Building and Pest Inspections should not be altered and must be dated indicating the timeframe in which the Building and Pest inspections should be completed.
In part, the Building and Pest Inspection clause within the REIQ contract states that the inspection must be completed by the due date and on terms satisfactory to the buyer. Whilst the house purchaser must act reasonably, the term “satisfactory to the purchaser” allows you grounds to renegotiate the costs involved in rectifying issues detected within a Building or Pest Inspection Report or to terminate the contract altogether should the faults be significant.
Has the Building and Pest Inspection Clause been changed?
In some instances this inspection clause has been changed to indicate that any form of renegotiation or termination of the contract could only be undertaken should significant structural fault or failure be detected. If this particular clause is accepted within the contract it would make it almost impossible to renegotiate or terminate the contract based on the findings within a Building or Pest Inspection Report unless the property was literally about to collapse.
Should I engage a solicitor?
In all instances we would recommend a solicitor be engaged to peruse the contract prior to signing.
We would also recommend a 14 day Building and Pest Inspection clause. This will allow you time to digest the information in the building and pest reports so that you are not rushed into making a decision.
Once you are ready to engage Building and Pest Inspectors, we recommend using this free checklist to help you choose a company you can trust.