General QuestionsWHAT IS A PROPERTY INSPECTION?
A property inspection is the process of a detailed on-site inspection, which is carried out by a competent person who is qualified and professional, also with substantial industry experience. ARE PROPERTY INSPECTIONS COMPULSORY? No. They are a voluntary procedure undertaken by anyone who is about to or has put in an Offer and Acceptance on any type of property. Perhaps they do not have any building industry experience or simply would like to have a professional look over the property, to give an unbiased report on its condition. AT WHAT STAGE ARE INSPECTIONS CARRIED OUT? An inspection can be carried out at any time, although keeping in mind that each inspection and report will be costly, it is therefore better to have an inspection only carried out on a property you are seriously considering purchasing. Not uncommonly, a property inspection is written into the Offer and Acceptance as a Condition of Sale, much the same as White Ant Certificates are written in. Be aware though, if a property inspection report supplies you with information that causes you concern about certain issues to do with the structural integrity of the property resulting in you wanting to back out of the sale, it may not be legally possible to do so. HOW DO I ARRANGE AN INSPECTION? First, ensure the seller is aware that you are going to have an inspection. Perhaps it is on your Offer and Acceptance and you have stated that you will have it carried out within a certain time frame of the Offer date. Once you have signed the Terms of Engagement agreement with me, simply supply me with the Sellers or Agents contact details. I will then make arrangements for a time to get access to the property, suitable to both parties. DO I NEED TO BE THERE FOR THE INSPECTION? No. I prefer to be alone. I treat this task with a great deal of importance and I need to focus completely. During or after the inspection, if I think you should see something I would like to explain to you, I will contact you at that time. DO I GET A REPORT? Yes. Once I get back to my office, I will type up a written report, which can be emailed, posted or delivered in an envelope into your mail box. Once you have read through the report, feel free to contact me for any further explanations. WILL THERE BE ANY PRICE ESTIMATES ON THE REPORT? No. There are simply far too many variables in quoting any sort of additions, alterations or remedial work to any type of building for me to do this. DOES THE SELLER GET A COPY OF THE REPORT? No. The contract to carry out the report is between you and me. What you do with the report thereafter is up to you. I will not engage in any discussion regarding either the report or the building, with the seller. WILL THERE BE ANY PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE REPORT? Yes. At times it is beneficial to take photographs, both as a means of explanation of a particular aspect of the building, and a means of record, however, I find that when it comes to showing finer detail, pictures can fall short of the task required. HOW LONG DOES AN INSPECTION TAKE? This is difficult to answer. It will depend on the building size, its condition, complexity, accessibility to under floor and into roof spaces, whether the property has outbuildings or two or more dwellings. A guide is that a standard 3 bedroom house would take 2 to 3 hours on site time, then time to write up the report, which can often amount to the same amount of time or more. DO YOU PROVIDE PURCHASING ADVICE? I will not give any opinion on whether to actually purchase the property or not. The decision regarding whether to buy the property or not, is up to you. Also, I will not recommend any particular tradesperson. |
Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@insolitus
Scope and CostWHAT IS ACTUALLY INSPECTED IN TERMS OF THE STRUCTURE?
The report takes into account anything structural about the building. Mostly superficial items such as painting or patch plastering is not worthy of mention as they are easily remedied. Here is a list of areas of inspection but this list is by no means exhaustive and bear in mind that every property is unique. 1. External Retaining walls; driveways; external mounted hot water units; condition of the external walls and/or external cladding; condition of the windows and doors; roof covering inspection; guttering & downpipes; rain water tanks. 2. Under floor If the building is on stumps, an inspection of the stumps and sub floor frame will be done, should access allow. 3. Internally Condition of the flooring (no matter what the type); structural condition of the walls; condition of the ceilings; inspection of the hot water unit (if applicable); condition of the heating/cooling system; 4. Roof space An inspection of the roof space will be carried out, provided the roof construction allows this. An inspection of the type and condition of roof and ceiling insulation will be given. An educated assessment of the electrical wiring will be carried out. HOW MUCH DOES THE INSPECTION COST? Cost of this service depends on too many factors to enable a blanket figure to be stated here. The end cost will depend on, but not be confined to, the following;
WHERE IS YOUR SERVICE AVAILABLE? I'm available for building inspections across the Great Southern, with the bulk of business coming from Albany. Please feel free to negotiate an agreed fixed-fee inspection. Contact me to discuss this option as I am more than happy to carry out any property inspection with the cost fixed at an agreed figure. |