Frequently Asked Questions
- All
- Choosing an Inspector
- Common Faults
- Industry Concerns
- Inspection Costs
- Insurance
- Post Inspection
- Reports
- Scope of Inspections
- Terms of Sale
- Warranties
You! No building inspector has the right to give a pass or failure. Their role is to identify problems and if necessary, guide and compare the results with other buildings of its age and type also to put things in perspective.
Not necessarily! Check with the Queensland Building & Construction Commission (QBCC) ph 139 333, regarding the property location to see if there are any warranties that would be transferable to you.
Yes! Owner built houses do not come with a 6-year warranty through a builder or the QBCC. Although they may be cheaper to purchase initially when you decide to sell it is more often than not at a reduced price.
Contact your legal representative, they will make a request for an extension from the seller’s legal party. Do not ask an agent, they will most likely tell you what suits them and may not pass on the request.
Although a building inspector is not qualified to comment on these areas that require an expert opinion, they may make comments from a builders point of view only and/or make recommendations that further advice from an expert is required.
Do a search on the problem. If possible, obtain at least 3 quotes. Request their guarantee period and limitations, also read the fine print. If obtaining guesstimates only, always ask for worst-case scenario costing then you are less likely to be out of pocket.
No! Not unless they have the required QBCC qualifications and are covered by insurance.
Treatment against termites does not rejuvenate the timber. Same as water does not fix a house after it has been burnt down. Don’t be conned by treatment!
Definitely not! Termites will destroy any type of timber, be it treated hardwood or softwood, even Cypress pine!
It doesn’t matter if the termites are active or not… What matters is the damage that has been caused while the termites were active.
- Is it structurally sound? There can be many more costly faults than the structure to be concerned about.
- Is there anything that would stop me from buying? Only you can make this decision after having read the report.
- How much to have replaced? Quotes from tradespeople would be required, not guesstimates.
Unlicensed building and/or pest inspectors can legally operate under a company and their QBCC licence without having any experience, qualifications also insurance. Do a license search through the QBCC and make sure your building or pest inspector personally carries indemnity insurance, not just the company!
No. So long as your house has been built correctly with its own independent footings for support, or if the retaining wall has been purposely built to support any part of the house. There is, however, a chance of the retaining wall collapsing onto your house, depending upon how close to your house the wall is.
Definitely not!
When the footings have been dug out and laid, loose soil is placed to fill the void and often the paving is then laid over the soil without it being compacted. This is a common occurrence and usually nothing for concern.
Not necessarily. Only if the movement is caused by other problems that are specified in your insurance policy. If in doubt, check with your insurer.
When it moves to such a degree that it presents a safety hazard or if any plumbing pipes within it become damaged from the movement of the paving. Plumbing must always have appropriate clearance to allow for the movement of paving.
- Hold a current QBCC domestic builders license or open license if carrying out commercial building inspections.
- Have at least 5 years as a builder.
- Carry current indemnity insurance.
- Have a completed residential building inspection license.
I strongly urge you to perform a QBCC license search when choosing a building inspector.
Not unless they are an experienced and qualified building inspector and carry insurance or are willing to personally accept responsibility for any of their oversights. Before hiring a building inspector, I recommend asking about their insurance policy.
Never pay upfront for any building inspection or pest control firm before they carry out the inspection. If they have achieved what they said they would and have confidence and detail in their report, they should not have a problem with this.
These are set requirements of insurers to make buyers aware of what the building inspector can and cannot cover in their building inspection report also outlining limitations of the report. Scope and limitations are available to clients upon request.
Not a good idea! Homebuilders are not experienced in identifying faults related to commercial buildings. Their insurer may also not cover them in case of a claim of negligence or omissions. Employ experts in the particular field to carry out inspections and make sure they have insurance!
Most definitely! To a limited degree only. Take your time and look for items that you may believe to be costly to have repaired or replaced before engaging a qualified building and pest control firm.
The fee varies considerably between different inspectors and companies. It usually depends on the detail and time taken to produce the report. Size, access, number of problems also structures to be inspected make a big difference in the fee charged. Tailored reports cost more than generic reports as they take more time.
You better believe it. It is so easy to understand and here are the reasons why. Where do you think the majority of building and/or pest inspectors receive recommendations and their source of income from? real estate agents! If they receive 50-200 or more referrals from the agents and one from you, where do you think their loyalty is and who their best friend is? and it’s not you!
Yes. Council authorities may consider illegal plumbing to be a health risk and do treat it seriously. Council may request you have the plumbing rectified by a qualified contractor or have it removed completely.