Real Estate Home Building Inspection and Real Estate Pest Inspection
Why do I need to get a real estate house inspected?
It may be easy for anyone to see obvious faults in a building, but what about all those items that are hidden, covered over or patched up, What is really needed is for a fully trained and experienced building inspector to spend up to 2 hours on the site to fully identify all the significant defects.
Comprehensive Building Inspections (CBI) provide an accurate, objective and detailed Pre Purchase Inspection service. We can usually gain unrestricted access within the building, (without the Estate Agent hovering over our shoulder), so that we examine areas not usually seen by a prospective purchaser, even though that person may walk through the property 2 or more times during the house inspection trips.
CBI use a fail safe, check list system to identify and evaluate over 150 different items outside and inside the building. The client is provided with a fully detailed typed report, in non technical language, with colour photographs for the better understanding of all the issues involved.
COMPREHENSIVE Real estate BUILDING INSPECTIONS
has been established for 18 years, servicing Sydney’s Northern Beaches and the Sydney Metropolitan areas.
Real estate INSPECTIONS
Our inspectors go through each room of the property examining the ceilings, walls, floors, windows and doors. They climb into the ceiling cavity and crawl under the floor looking for any damage, irregularities, sub-standard workmanship and damp. They look for cracking in the walls, sagging in the floors and leaks through the roof explaining clearly the seriousness of what they find. The condition of the electric wiring, plumbing, hot water tank and gutters and downpipes are an important part of the report. In the front and back yards they look at the drainage and the condition of fences and paths. All repairs required are itemised and an estimate of the costs noted.
real estate REPORTS
Our building and pre-arranged pest reports are approximately 15 pages long, contain at least 20 coloured photographs, extremely detailed, do not contain ticks or crosses and are easy to read because they are written in clear non-technical language. The reports have 3 main functions:
1. If the property is in good condition the buyer can purchase with confidence.
2. If the property is in poor condition the buyer may abandon the purchase.
3. If repairs are required, extent of rectification work can be nominated to allow cost estimates to be established, so the buyer can negotiate a lower house price or arrange for the Vendor to correct items as agreed.
4. We can then email the full report (Photo's included) to you, your Solicitor or both in pdf format. We are happy to talk with your solicitor if required.
real estate Home Buying
Select a pre-purchase property inspection that suits your needs
Pre-purchase property reports are now usually recommended by most Solicitors and Property Conveyancing companies and the number of people offering building inspections has boomed. This has resulted in pre-purchase inspections of varying quality and costs. Beware of the "drive by" inspections operators and remember you only get what you pay for. It takes up to 4 hours to carry out an inspection and produce a full report.
A good building inspection will inform the homebuyer of important information that will influence the buyer's decision to purchase the property. An inspection must be comprehensive and provide an accurate and objective opinion whether the building is structurally sound and whether the buyer can expect major expenditures in the near future, such as repairing the roof.
A building inspection report should be tailored to the age of the property. When you buy a newly built home it makes sense to have a thorough inspection of the property's fixtures and fittings, such as the quality of the cabinet-making and tiling in addition to the structural report.
When you are buying an older home you should expect normal wear and tear, but your primary concern is with serious and structural faults that can lead to expensive repairs such as damage to the foundations. CBI will be pleased to discuss these issues with you prior to visiting the site and after the inspection.
Ideally a CBI inspection is completed before you make an offer to purchase the home or during the cooling off period, if a contract has already been made.
A CBI inspection compies with Australian Standard AS 4349.1 and will provide you with a prompt, accurate and objective evaluation of the hom you intend to purchase.
Real estate Home Selling?
Selling a home can be just a stressful as buying, particularly if you are looking for a quick sale.
As a seller you will benefit from a pre-sale inspection that will provide reliable information regarding the state of your property. Few homes are perfect, and the scale of the potential problems can vary greatly from major structural issues to simple maintenance needs.
By conducting a pre-sale inspection, you can identify exactly what things may need to be done to maximise the appeal of your home and ensure a quick and trouble free sale. You are also then in a position to reassure potential buyers and their lending institutions that the property they wish to purchase is worth the purchase price.
Real estate Frequently Asked Questions
Q:WHAT IS A Real estate HOME building INSPECTION?
A home inspection is an objective visual examination of the physical structure and systems of a home, from the roof to the foundation. Having a home inspected is like giving it a physical check-up. If problems or symptoms are found the inspector may recommend further evaluation. A home inspection is not a warranty. It is a visual inspection of a home to determine problems or potential problems that exist or can be visually determined at the time of the inspection.
Q: WHY DO I NEED A real estate HOME Building INSPECTION ?
The purchase of a home is probably the largest single investment you will ever make. You should learn as much as you can about the condition of the property and the need for any major repairs before you buy, so that you can minimize unpleasant surprises and difficulties afterwards. Of course, a home inspection also points out the positive aspects of a home, as well as the maintenance that will be necessary to keep it in good shape. After the inspection, you will have a much clearer understanding of the property you are about to purchase. If you are already a home owner, a home inspection may be used to identify problems in the making and to learn preventive measures which might avoid costly future repairs. If you are planning to sell your home, you may wish to have an inspection prior to placing your home on the market. This will give you a better understanding of conditions which may be discovered by the buyer's inspector, and an opportunity to make repairs that will put the house in better selling condition.
Q:WHAT DOES IT real estate home building inspection INCLUDE
?
The standard home inspector's report will review the condition of the home's heating system, central air conditioning system (temperature permitting), interior plumbing and electrical systems; roof, attic, and visible insulation; walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors; the foundation, basement, landscaping, and visible structure.
Q: WHAT WILL IT real estate home building inspection COST ?
The inspection fee for a typical one-family house varies geographically, as does the cost of housing. Similarly, within a given area, the inspection fee may vary depending upon the size of the house, particular features of the house, its age, and possible additional services, such as septic, well, or radon testing. It is a good idea to check local prices on your own. Most inspectors will charge between $200 and $350 for an average size home.
However, do not let cost be a factor in deciding whether or not to have a home inspection, or in the selection of your home inspector. The knowledge gained from an inspection is well worth the cost, and the lowest-priced inspector is not necessarily a bargain. The inspector's qualifications, including his experience, training, and professional affiliations, should be the most important consideration. It is very costly to find out that after you purchased your home you have severe water problems that cost several thousand dollars to repair.
Q: CAN I DO A real estate home building INSPECTION MYSELF ?
Even the most experienced homeowner lacks the knowledge and expertise of a professional home inspector who has inspected hundreds, perhaps thousands, of homes in his or her career. An inspector is familiar with the many elements of home construction, their proper installation, and maintenance. He or she understands how the home's systems and components are intended to function together, as well as how and why they fail. Above all, most buyers find it very difficult to remain completely objective and unemotional about the house they really want, and this may affect their judgment. For the most accurate information, it is best to obtain an impartial third-party opinion by an expert in the field of home inspection.
Sub-Floor Building Ventilation
Many homes in Australia have elevated flooring with an accessible sub-floor.
The sub-floor area is often enclosed and poorly ventilated providing an undesirable environment that is conducive to mould growth, termite activity and decay.
Correct sub-floor ventilation reduces the risk of these factors and improves the quality of living within the dwelling.
In general terms sub-floor ventilation is divided into two forms, natural cross flow ventilation and mechanical ventilation.
We have expertise in creating the most desirable ventilation for the type of building considering the buildings physical location.
To create good sub-floor ventilation we need to consider the exposure of a particular building to prevailing winds, the overall size of all the openings in relation to the void that needs to be ventilated and that ventilation openings correctly correspond with openings on the far side of the void to be ventilated.
It can also be very important to have correct (or controlled) ventilation at certain times of day or alternatively under certain weather conditions. Many will consider installing mechanical ventilators that work during periods when the weather outside is warm and humid as is often the case in the middle of the day, therefore actually introducing higher humidity into a void and causing poorer conditions within the sub-floor and the interior of the building.
When considering sub-floor ventilation it is important to consider natures physics. Hot air will absorb larger amounts of humidity and tends to rise while cold air will compress and therefore reduce the amount of humidity and stay lower. In realising this simple fact we can design our ventilation to suit particular conditions and use nature to assist in providing us with the most advanced ventilation. This is an area that our expertise on the subject of ventilation has been so successful, in many cases we will adapt the natural forces of nature to provide us with a superior ventilation system.
It is often not enough just to provide ventilation under a building and this is where we have found the concept of Sub-floor Solutions so effective as we also alter the environment under the building together with the installation of additional sub-floor ventilation.
The information on this page is generally brief and only explains a very small part of the overall complexities related to correct sub-floor ventilation.
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