Pre-Purchase Inspection
For Pre-Purchase Home Inspections Melbourne and surrounding suburbs, we guarantee your report within 24 hours of the inspection.
Check out some of our Pre-Purchase property inspection reports.
What is a pre-purchase home inspection?
A pre-purchase building inspection is a visual inspection, involving having a property thoroughly inspected internally and externally for defects, both minor and major as per AS 4349 ‘Inspection of Buildings’ requirements.
A major defect is defined in the Standard as
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"A defect where work is required to avoid unsafe conditions, loss of use or further damage and a minor defect is; Any other defect, eg: minor blemishes, corrosion, weathering, general deterioration, superficial damage to surfaces and finishes, that would be expected to be rectified as part of ongoing property maintenance".
In our experience at The Building Inspection Doctor, we have never inspected a property that didn’t have minor defects.
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Below is an example from a Sample Pre-Purchase property inspection report.
What are the benefits of having a pre-purchase home inspection report?
Purchasing a property is likely to be the largest investment many of us make in our lifetime, so getting it right could potentially save you several thousand dollars in costly repairs in the future.
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It gives the prospective buyer peace of mind that the property they may be buying does not have underlying costly issues/defects.
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What is involved in the process of a Pre-purchase building inspection?
Once you have contacted The Building Inspection Doctor and engaged us to inspect your prospective new home, we contact the real estate agent directly to arrange a time to inspect the property.
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A quotation and inspection agreement will be emailed to you and requires acceptance by you prior to the inspection commencing.
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Whilst on site at the property, the building consultant will inspect the home room by room checking the operation of doors, windows, cabinetry etc, as well as testing for moisture in bathrooms, laundries etc, whilst getting photographic evidence along the way.
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If accessible, the roof cavity will be checked during the interior inspection. Once inside is complete, the inspection will move to the outside which involves checking for cracking to brickwork, timber rot to weatherboards, windows, fascias etc, connection of stormwater drainage, condition of roofing and gutters where visible. Sheds, garages and bungalows are also inspected.
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If the property is on a timber subfloor (constructed on stumps, bearers & joists), if accessible, the subfloor or underside of the home will also be thoroughly inspected.
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Upon completion of the inspection, the building consultant will contact the prospective buyer to let them know what defects were found and whether they are major or minor. They will also let the buyer know what work would be needed to fix the defects.
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The consultant will then write up the report and an invoice will be sent, which requires payment prior to the report being sent to you. At The Building Inspection Doctor, we like to have the report completed and sent to you the same day as the inspection. On the very rare occasion that this does not happen, we do guarantee that you will receive it within 24hrs of completing the inspection.
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When you receive the building inspection report, we ask that you read through the report carefully and contact us afterwards with any further questions you may have regarding the inspection and the defects found.
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Is a termite/timber pest inspection part of the building inspection?
At The Building Inspection Doctor, we recommend and use the services of Walker’s Pest Management to perform our termite and timber pest inspections in conjunction with our building inspections. You will receive a report on the day of the inspection from Walker’s, separate to the building inspection report.
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