Building Inspectors / House Surveys

Hi,

Can anyone recommend any building inspectors in Adelaide, suburb being Warradale. The equivalent of a survey in the UK! Just want to check the house I'm potentially buying is sound!!

Thanks in advance

Fran

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Hi FranMarie

I wouldn't bother as they are a wast of time and Money, but I would have a termite check done with a company called Complete Pest Control using the infrared camera. Building inspectors sometimes miss asbestos which is everywhere here and is most old houses. What age is the house you are looking at buying? anything build before 1989 could have asbestos in but unlikely. The more older properties build early 1980's and 1970's will have asbestos in the eves, roofs and fences.

Hey thanks for your message, oh really? So just not worth it? I'll get onto the pest control thank you. House was built in 1959 so not one of these beautiful period properties, but not a new house either. It feels strange buying a house without a survey as you'd be mad to buy a house in the uk without one! Thank you for your advice

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Hi Fran,

We always recommend a building and pest inspection. We have had clients pull out of a purchase a few times due to the results of the inspection.

I will email you the name of a company that a lot of our clients have used.

Regards

Adam

Hi,

 

Can anyone recommend any building inspectors in Adelaide, suburb being Warradale. The equivalent of a survey in the UK! Just want to check the house I'm potentially buying is sound!!

 

Thanks in advance

 

Fran

 

 

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I'd always get an inspection. We had one on our house and it gave us a good run down of what was what. We'd not have bought without it. It wasn't expensive in the grand scheme of things and we even got the low down on the wooden sleepers in the garden that had had termites in the past.

We used this guy (was recommended to us) http://reliablehomeinspections.com.au/ and he was very thorough.

Thanks

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Hi I if you get a recommended inspector by someone you know who has used that inspector and for your peace of mind then I would go with him. I would make sure you tell him to get in the roof space and not just pop his head in attic hatch. I know 2 real estate agents who also say they are a waste of money as anyone can become an inspector here with minimum experience in the building industry. One thing I would specifically ask him to check for is suspected asbestos as they put it in products like vinyl floor tiles, eves, roofs, fences, wet areas and I've seen it as the garage ceiling in one property. In commercial properties its law that landlords or building owners have an asbestos register but this does not apply to domestic dwellings. Inspectors also only do a visual inspection for termites so they are extremely basic, if your buying a property that is expensive or your putting a lot of your money into an old property like the one you spoke of, I would also get a termite inspection using the thermal camera with a reputable company like murray pest control or complete pest control. We've used complete pest control and they are thorough and can take about 2 hours to do a 4 bed house with a good report and recommendations.

Really depends what you are buying. You also get what you pay for a cheap inspection will probably tell you very little you could not have seen for yourself.

Also make sure any offer is subject to you being satisfied with the building inspection.

We had one done and it allowed us to pull out of a sale because we were not happy with what it showed, yes the things were not major but they were unwilling to drop the price so we walked free. Can be a bargaining point. The owners were very disgruntled we had one done at all and thought we were being very picky but they wanted top money so we did it for our peace of mind, when they refused to re negotiate they thought they would be able to keep our deposit if we pulled out but because of the clause we had they had to cough up.

They didn't sell it in the end, at least not that year!

Of course if there are a few offers then sometimes putting in extra clauses can bump you down the list but with an older property I would want some idea how much it might cost me to put things right.

ive had several done over the past few years and recently came across Travis at Summerton Building Inspections. http://www.summertonbi.com.au He was very thorough and gave great explanations as to what any significant issues were. I have used him a couple of times now and do recommend him.

A couple of years ago i had one done by a well known architect business in Adelaide and the guy did a VERY superficial job and was rude and very expensive

I had an inspection done before buying. The results allowed a little negotiation. The owner had the old fuse box / ceramic fuses replaced and it did reveal that there was asbestos in the eaves. I decided that this was still ok as it was sealed and would only be a hazard if drilled into.

I have looked at properties that were riddled with asbestos though...fences, eaves, ceilings....most of the older properties have it.

I didn't think that the property inspection report was anything special but at least it's piece of mind when you buy here for the first time. I found it quite a shock that the buyer has to pay for this. Where I lived before the seller has to get a beetle certificate and an electrical certificate before they can sell a property...much fairer IMHO!

From bitterly cold experience, I would have the gas boiler checked by a reputable company ..... ask your vendor for the service history of any work, if they cant supply it assume its not been serviced ever and get it checked out avoiding a huge bill to replace a heating system ( hindsight is an exact science)

Good Luck

Yes we've bought several houses here and still always get one done it can bring up hidden things like dampness etc...we negotiated fire alarms being fitted at one house as had none even though being rented Had a skimmer box changed on a swimming pool that was actually illegal the one they had....we are pretty much experts in what to look for but its extra peice of mind and sale is always subject to the inspection outcome...I can recommend 2 places if you've not got one already

Termite Inspections can determine whether your home has an infestation and pest inspectors can inspect your building and notify you if you have an infestation.

I had one done 3 weeks ago on a house we are buying, The recommended guy was Dennis Allison dennis@homecheck.com.au He was very thorough, checked all the building and construction side of things, his report also prioritised things that needed doing and in what timescale. Would use him again if buying in the future.