WHAT IS A PRE-PURCHASE BUILDING INSPECTION REPORT?

 


By the look of the property, a pre-purchase building inspection may seem unnecessary at surface level but there could be serious issues hidden under the new rug or fresh coat of paint. Building Inspection Council has encountered many stories of property buyers who got burned by skipping the building inspection. 

WHAT IS A PRE-PURCHASE BUILDING INSPECTION REPORT?

As the name suggests, it is a building inspection report that you get just before you purchase a property and is sometimes also referred to as the ‘standard property report’. A pre-purchase building inspection report is documented record of the condition of the property prepared by a qualified building inspector. The report tells you about every major and minor problem in the property such as water damage, cracks in the walls, sagging ceiling, roof issues, drainable problems, mold, building movement, and window or door issues. It is usually prepared before the exchanges of the contract between seller and buyer to identify any costly problems.

WHY DO I NEED A PRE-PURCHASE BUILDING INSPECTION REPORT?

A pre-purchase building inspection report helps the buyer in many direct and indirect ways. Here are 4 main reasons why buyers should go for a pre-purchase building inspection

Building Defects: Pre-purchase reports reveals all the building defects to the buyer in advance.

Concealed Defects: Some vendors go to any extent to hide the defects which are impossible to detect by untrained buyers. Pre-purchase inspection unearths these defects.

Risk: The report lists all the fatal and health risks present in the property

Negotiation: Pre-purchase inspection reports empower you with information that you can use for negotiation.

For more information, read(“7 Must Reasons For Building Inspection“)

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE PRE-PURCHASE BUILDING INSPECTION REPORT?

Site Information:  Client name, address of the property, reason of inspection, date of inspection, the scope of information, a summary of the condition of the property, list of significant problems, and any further recommendations. It lists all the areas which are not inspected and the reasons why it is not inspected.

Inspection Details: The pre-purchase building inspection report contains the details of the inspection for the site, exterior building, interior building, exterior roof, interior roof, and footing. The report contains defects information in these sections of the property.

Summary: It is a brief summary of the finding of the pre-purchase building inspection. It contains synopses of the major defects and the overall condition of the property.

For more information, read (“What Is Included In Building Inspection Report?“).

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRE-PURCHASE BUILDING INSPECTION REPORT?

A pre-purchase building inspection report covers only information gathered in visual inspection of the property until otherwise mentioned. The report does not cover the defect in the parts of the property that are inaccessible or unsafe to access.  The report mentions only the defects identified in the property but not the cost to fix these defects. It does not contain information outside the scope of the consultant domain. The inspection report does not cover the item which is not part of the standard houses such as machine, electrical equipment, solar panels, electrical faults, plumbing problems, household equipment, air-conditioning, fire-place, chimney, swimming pool, alarms and intercoms, carpet and furniture. 

For more information, read (“What Is Not Included In The Building Inspection?“)

HOW TO ORDER A PRE-PURCHASE BUILDING INSPECTION REPORT?

Building Inspection Council has observed that finding a good pre-purchase building inspector is a challenge. Without proper guidelines from the government, there are many incompetent inspectors out there stitching up naive property buyers. We recommend you do your own research and make a list of inspectors based on the online reviews. Ask your friend and families for their experience and shortlist 3 – 4  building inspectors. Talk to each of the shortlisted building inspectors and follow the below steps

  • Ask about the experience and common local building defects
  • Ask for a copy of the insurance and qualification
  • Confirm what is covered in the inspection
  • Confirm what is excluded in the inspection
  • Negotiate the final price of the inspection

(N.B. Make sure to book a building inspector with specific training or education in building inspection )

For more information, read (“How To Choose A Building Inspector?“)

The report says that 100% of properties have building defects and property buyers have spent $10.5 billion on fixing the building defects in the last decade.  By skipping the pre-purchase building inspection, you could end up one of the stat. It is a small investment that can protect your expensive repairs down the path.

Building Inspection Council is a not-for-profit community service that helps Australian property buyers with free building inspection. We pre-verify each building inspector before allowing them to send you quotes. The best thing about being a not-for-profit organization is that we do not have to make compromises for profit. You save $104.7 compared to the market and get quotes from the genuine expert inspector of your area. FOR FREE QUOTES, CLICK HERE.


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