What’s Covered (And What’s Not) In A Building Inspection Report
Congratulations! After weeks, months or maybe even years trawling through real estate websites, you’ve found yourself a property to buy. To protect your investment, you’ll need to get yourself a building inspection report quick-sticks. Do you know what’s covered in a pre-purchase inspection? We’ll tell you.
Why do I need a building inspection?
Put simply, you need to get a building inspection report because you’re taking a huge risk if you don’t. Regardless of whether your prospective bricks and mortar property falls into the unit, apartment or house bracket, a building inspection report is essential. An inspection may uncover hidden structural problems that you might not see with the untrained eye.
If you don’t organise a pre-purchase inspection, and you later find out your property is on the brink of a structural failure, you’ll be responsible to fix those faults. That can mean big, big bucks.
Aren’t building inspection reports just another cost that you could do without?
No. In fact, it’s quite the opposite when you buy a new property. Building inspections are worth every cent. Perhaps you’ve clocked a few cracks in the wall, what’s the go there? Is that wonky deck adding character to the home, or is it at risk of collapse? Did the previous owners hire the services of a not-so-great contractor? A qualified inspector will answer your questions.
You must be careful with structural works done to your property because, unfortunately, you’ll find shoddy workmanship everywhere. If your property houses a new-ish extension, you won’t know if the building work is compliant just by looking at it; nor will you know if the work has been carried out safely. Even if you can’t see a fault in your property, you won’t necessarily know what’s going on beneath the surface and behind the façade. This is why a building inspection report should be scheduled.
A building inspection report might uncover a building woe you had no idea would be an issue. For example, you could be sitting on a home desperately in need of a re-stump. If an investigation uncovers weak stumps, you could use that as a bargaining tool to negotiate on your offer. If nothing else, if you know about it before the auction date, you’ll know whether you need to allow extra in your budget for possible repairs.
Buying into a property ‘blind’ (i.e. without a thorough inspection) simply isn’t worth the risk to you or your family. You need to know that your home is safe. And if your building inspection reveals nothing of concern with your property? It has still been worth the cost for complete peace of mind.
Conveyancer vs building inspection report
A lot of property buyers just like you think the services of a conveyancer will be all that you need prior to a purchase. Everyone requires the services of a conveyancer, whose job it is to uncover the legalities of your purchase. A building inspection report, however, will delve deeper into your property’s structure, and determine the condition of your home.
What a conveyancer does
The role of a conveyancer is quite different from the role of a building inspector. While the conveyancer might detect illegal renovations, for example, they will not be able to comment on any other safety or structural concerns.
A conveyancer:
- conducts title searches;
- prepares and lodges legal documents;
- researches and calculates rates and taxes associated with the property;
- transfers legal title of land;
- liaises between financiers; and
- communicates with the vendor’s conveyancer.
What is covered in a building inspection report?
A standard pre-purchase building inspection report will assess the condition of your prospective property. That said, this is not an all encompassing assessment, but is a visual investigation to see if there are any defects noticeable on accessible parts of the building. For example, an inspector will check the roof and roof void, external walls, doors and windows, and internal walls, floors and subfloor.
An inspector will look for:
- water damage, damp or rot;
- cracks and / or structural damage that can be seen with the eye;
- uneven floors;
- visual evidence of pests (NB: this is not equivalent to a detailed pest inspection); and
- evidence of rust.
Checks may include the use of tools like a moisture metre, but will not include invasive investigations to inaccessible areas of the property. If major concerns are noticed, your inspector may recommend that you contact a plumber or asbestos expert, for example, to conduct further testing.
Full defect building reports with Action Property Inspections
Brisbane-based Action Property Inspections go way beyond your standard pre-purchase building inspection report, offering a full defect building report instead. If you think about it, if you’re willing to spend the money to get a building inspection report, and you may as well get it done properly.
A full defect building report is thorough, detailed and precise. You’re not talking about a few pages either; on average, a full defect building report will be between 50 and 60 pages. That said, you’ll still be able to run through the report and understand what has been noted rather than try and translate industry jargon.
The team at Action Property Inspections use the latest technology in the aforementioned building inspection reports. Such technology includes thermal image cameras, moisture metres and colour digital images to document faults in the building inspection report.
Thermal imagery works using an infared method. What this is able to do is detect energy waste, electrical issues and unseen moisture. This is a really helpful tool in building inspection reports, because thermal imaging can find faults that may otherwise be hard to detect.
Thermal imaging is useful in detecting pest problems such as concealed termite damage, too, which might otherwise be impossible to see with the naked eye. This advanced technique will also be able to indicate things like damp spots, therefore potential for mould, and identify humidity or condensation, which can lead to long term problems if not addressed.
You don’t save money if you skip a building inspection report
You’re taking a very big gamble if you don’t get yourself a pre-purchase building inspection. Think about the underlying problems that could go unnoticed if you don’t. Buying a property is one of, if not the largest investment you will make in your lifetime; you need to do it right. Get yourself a full defect building report, which will leave you content knowing exactly what you are buying into.
Make Action Property Inspections your first port of call and organise your pre-property building inspection report today. Book in a building inspection for your Brisbane property by calling free on 1800 642 465, or simply complete the online home inspections booking form.