Pre-purchase Building Inspections

When buying a home you need to rely on a professional who will give you sound advice and peace of mind - information to assist you in making an informed decision about your purchase. We use an advanced property inspection checklist to assist you to make a safe purchase every time. We thoroughly inspect your property including construction, roofing, electrical, plumbing, damp and moisture, drainage, asbestos issues.

Property Protect offers a Standard and Premium building inspection reports, both of which comply with the Australian Standard 4349.1 for building inspections. The building inspector will also contact you by phone to provide a verbal report of any findings. Reports are emailed, faxed or posted to you within 48 hours following the inspection.

How to carry out a successful pre purchase house inspection with Property Protect.

Choice of House inspector
The following should be looked for when choosing a house inspector.

1. Qualifications:

Generally a house inspector should have the following qualifications:

• Be a licensed Builder (In the name of the company)
• The inspector should also be a licensed building works supervisor
• Have a degree in either architecture, engineering or in building technology: Property Protect's Damian Swart has qualifications in all three of the above.

2. AS 4349
You should ensure that the inspector carries out an inspection in accordance with the industry standard AS 4349.
This is for both the inspection and the report. Click here to see a sample report which complies with AS 4349.

3.Time of the inspection
Most real estate agents will tell you that a house inspection needs to be carried out in the 2 working day cooling off period in South Australia. This is not correct. You can have a building inspection done when you the client wants it done. The inspection can be carried out before the cooling off period starts.

Doing the inspection in this time period creates a number of problems as follows:

• It is not always easy to find an inspector in a short time period
• Most good building inspectors are generally booked out more than 48 hours in advance
• If the inspector finds a number of problems during the inspection and the client then needs to obtain quotes you may run out of time
• My advice to people is always to have two days to think about a house purchase, generally sleeping on such a large decision is good advice. It also allows you to get advice from friends and family.
• Most importantly, if a large defect is noted during an inspection and this is done prior to the offer being placed this may affect your offer.
  
  Property Protects advice to you is to place your offer into the real estate agent before the cooling off period starts and after the building inspection has been carried out.
  

4. Insurances
You should ensure that the prospective company is adequately insured. Property Protect carries insurance

5. Membership of Industry Bodies
The only effective body that you can report a sub standard building inspection to is an industry body. You should ensure that the building inspector you are going to use is a member of one of the following bodies (in South Australia these are):

• Master Builders Association (MBA)
• Housing Industry Association (HIA)
• Association of Building Consultants. (ABC)

Property Protect’s Damian Swart is a member of the MBA and the ABC.