Building & Pest Inspections

Building inspections can identify structural issues that can safeguard you from buying a property that will require major repairs in the future. They can also reveal smaller maintenance issues that aren’t necessarily a deal breaker, but can give you a little leverage in negotiating the sale price or terms of the contract.

Your building and pest report can also identify current pest infestations that need to be treated, or reveal historical infestations that indicate preventative measures you can implement to proactively protect your home.

In building inspections, the inspector looks for major structural movement, where the property shows signs like cracking in brickwork, bulging walls inside the property, and cracks in masonry from encroaching tree roots, Major water penetration causing inadequate drainage, clogged guttering, broken pipes, corrosion, and mould and fungal activity are usually considered to be major issues. The inspector will also look for signs of decay and deterioration of support structures for the house, particularly the stumps under the house, bearers and joints, flooring, walls, and roof damage.

Pest inspections can identify termite (or white ant) infestation that causes structural damage, as well as infestation by rodents, cockroaches, bedbugs, and silverfish that cause structural and health issues.

Sometimes building inspections reveal problems with the property, and sometimes it’s difficult to decide whether or not they’re acceptable. Issues can vary from common problems, like minor plumbing issues that can be resolved reasonably easily, to major structural problems, like subsidence and structural movement that requires major expenses like underpinning the house. Usually the report will indicate when the problem requires a major or minor intervention, but not necessarily an estimate of the cost involved. Major issues like structural movement, water problems and unhealthy mould levels are major concerns and potential indicators that you should abandon the sale.

Building and pest reports will indicate when a pest infestation goes beyond something treatable and is compromising the safety of the property. It will also reveal which pests are problematic for the property or its area.

Inspection reports don’t just identify issues with the property that need attending. In combination with a valuation, they are also useful in informing the sale price, and can assist in negotiations, or help to identify minor issues that will become problematic in the future, so you can plan how to resolve them and aren’t blindsided later.

If you’re buying a property, it’s not mandatory, but because overall purchase prices are much greater than the cost of building and pest inspections, it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind in the biggest financial investment you’re likely to make in your life.