Articles

A property inspection or pre-purchase building inspection will reveal any areas of the home that may be deemed unsafe, in particular, the presence of asbestos and other dangerous materials, missing or loose balustrades and cracks in walls.

How buyers should get a property inspection to give ensure that the home is structurally sound, all smoke alarms are in working order, there is no existing irreparable damage and that any existing damage and repairs are budgeted for

We all know that purchasing a home is a big deal! In fact, the greatest single purchase that most people will make in their entire lives is a home.

With this in mind, it is important that homebuyers know EXACTLY what they are getting. The good, the bad and the hidden secrets.

It is always advised that buyers have Pre-Purchase Inspection Reports completed before they finalise a contract on a house.

Australian buyers have become victims, losing purchase money of hundreds of thousands of dollars from property transactions to sophisticated cyber scammers. Conveyancers and Real Estate Agents should be aware of this scam affecting Australian Purchasers.

Scammers are using hacked information and posing as a Purchaser’s Conveyancer via email in order to have purchase money transferred into fraudulent trust funds.

With the introduction of pre-purchase property inspection legislation, that came into effect in mid 2016, there are a important details that Conveyancers and Purchasers need to be aware of…

An article published on Domain.com.au entitled “Five Things Sellers Hide at Open Homes” discusses the all too common problems when purchasing a home. The expertise of a qualified and experienced property inspector from Childs Property Inspections is a must in order to uncover all the hidden secrets and possible defects of a home. Want to know more…..

Pest Inspectors look for termites or white ants living within or around your dwelling that have caused or may cause damage to the property. They also look for nests on the property.

A building inspection is designed to provide the current or future owner of a building with a comprehensive breakdown of any damage that exists within the property, roof cavity, under floors or within the foundations and walls.

Get your Building & Pest Report and/or a Strata Report carried out for only $50!!*

A building and pest inspection identifies both the existence of damage and the whereabouts of pests as well as inspecting and reporting on the structure and any damage existing within the home.

Using a thermal imaging camera during a pest inspection is the most accurate way to determine if there are termites or white ants living in a property.  A thermal imaging inspection can locate the presence of termite infestation within the structure of the home using infrared heat seeking technologies.

A Dilapidation Report details the existing condition of a structure, road, footpaths etc prior to building work being carried out on a neighbouring property. Most councils as part of a development application will require a dilapidation report be carried out on neighbouring structures.

A dilapidation report is useful in defence if any claims are made by the owner of a neighbouring property against you for damage they believe your building works have caused.

A dilapidation report will itemise each defect found and also include a photo of each defect. The inspector will report on all internal and external areas of the structure and where required, the council assets including roads, footpaths, gardens and grounds.

Fast Building & Pest Reports can be the difference between buying your dream home and missing out. Especially when the market is moving quickly, it is important to be able to make an informed decision without delay.

Childs Property Inspections offer rapid turn around on all reports.

The perfect way to do this is to buy an inspection report that has already been completed. We offer this service on Building Reports, Pest Reports and Strata Reports.

From 29 April 2016 new swimming pool laws state that all properties with a swimming pool or spa, that are sold must ensure the Contract for Sale includes;

* a valid swimming pool certificate of compliance, and a

* a certificate of registration.

The process of a building inspection involves a certified inspector visiting the dwelling and assessing internal and external damage before completing a report which is then given to the owner to address.

Building inspections are much more than a simple structural report. The full pre-purchase building report includes a wide variety of information. The complete list of inspections includes: mechanical services, asbestos, mould, drainage, geotechnical, appliance, durability of exposed surfaces, alarm, intercom, data systems, structural, air conditioning, hydraulic, council plan, swimming pool, spa, pool fencing, chimney, fire, hazards, garage door, gas fitting, and timber pest inspections. The pest inspections are an important aspect of the report, because houses may appear to be in good condition when there is actually extensive damage caused by pests.

The benefits of having a Pre-purchase Inspection Reports done before completing a contract on a house include all existing problems within the home form minor paint chips and scratched tiles to major damage in the walls, carpets, flooring, sub-floor, ceiling and roof tiles.

These building inspections assist the buyer in understanding what subtle problems they might encounter with the home after they purchase it. Armed with this full disclosure, the individual is capable of engaging in the best decision regarding finalising the home purchase, or avoiding it instead. Another reason that people might be interested in such property inspections is because when the report demonstrates problem areas, then the prospective buyer is able to utilise this information as a negotiating tool. More advantageous terms can be secured this way in the final rounds. If significant problems are uncovered, the buyer may even be able to obtain a less expensive final buying price. A final reason that a person would be interested in getting this Pre-purchase report done lies in the fact that when such reports divulge their information, this can assist the buyer in getting a specialist’s recommendations as to any dangers that may lurk in the house because of these problems.

After over 21 years of inspecting properties the team at Childs Property Inspections have quite a few stories to tell.  You may be surprised to hear that inspecting homes is not always a glamorous job!  Here are our Top 5 behind the scenes stories…..

1.You may read a report that says that the inspection was inhibited by excessive stored goods……. now you would probably picture a neatly made bed blocking the view of a wall or maybe some clothes folded on a shelf in the laundry.  Unfortunately this is not always the case.  It is in fact sometimes this horror picture of a bedroom (see picture below) that clearly has not had the sheets washed since Tom Cruise was a fresh new face in Hollywood. And it would seem the resident didn’t like the colour of their carpet so maybe got decorating inspiration from Coca-Cola and Gin!  If you want to play Spot-O you may be able to see the bottle of cologne on the table to ensure they smelt nice each day!

Thermal Camera Pest Inspections use  an advanced, non-invasive technology which uses a special lens to focus on infrared light emitted by all of the objects in view. The focused light is scanned by a phased array of infrared-detector elements. The detector elements create a very detailed temperature pattern called a thermogram. That allows the inspector to show clients things about their homes or buildings that can’t be revealed using conventional inspection methods.