Who is allowed to conduct your building inspection?
People will get a building inspection on a property typically before making the decision to purchase it. The reason for this is to have some piece of mind about the home you might be moving into, and to make sure there is nothing hiding under the surface that will cause problems and cost money in the future.
It is a good idea to know who is allowed to conduct your building inspection, and figure out whether certain inspectors are qualified.
According to the Australian standard, there are no regulations surrounding who can can conduct a building, or pest, inspection, aside from Queensland, where the person carrying out an inspection must be trained, qualified and registered or licensed as a builder.
In all other states of Australia, anyone can be a property inspector, which may leave some homeowners stumped when it comes to choosing one whom they can trust to do the job well.
Due to the lack of regulations, many people will consider themselves fit to carry out building inspections if they have background as a building tradesperson or a builder, or have experience in the building sector, even if they have no actual skills or knowledge for carrying out an inspection to the required standard. Whilst the standard is only mandatory in Queensland, it is still an extremely useful set of guidelines for inspection companies, like Resicert, to follow and ensures consistency in the service offered to clients.
This also relates to timber pest inspections. One shouldn’t assume that a pest technician or termite exterminator is capable of carrying out an inspection. Once again, there aren’t strict rules surrounding timber pest inspections, but there are certainly a set of skills and knowledge required to ensure a thorough inspection is performed.
Be sure to do research when looking for someone to conduct your inspection. Things to look out for include:
Insurance – What kind of insurance does the inspector have in place? Will it cover you if they break something in the house or fall through the roof?
Do they inspect the entire building/property? – Some inspectors may not actually do what you think they’re supposed to. Some will only inspect parts of the property and are in and out in less than 25 minutes. Proper building inspections should cover every aspect of a building, including the roof and internal roof spaces. Inspecting these parts is essential as they are key elements of the building’s structure and are actually where many potential problems lie.
Do they offer a money back guarantee? – Choosing an inspector who offers a 100% money back guarantee can give you some extra peace of mind. If something goes wrong or you are unsatisfied with the product you won’t lose any money in the process. When an inspector or company offers a 100% money back guarantee, it shows they are also confident with their product, which usually means a good service.
How efficient is their service? – The last thing you want is inefficient service: someone taking hours to conduct an inspection, having to come back and retrieve tools they left behind or waiting a week to receive the report after an inspection. Speed and efficiency is important for building inspections, which is why you should make sure you know what their service is like.
It is a good idea to see if they have testimonials available to read through. These should give a good outline of the service you are considering, as customer feedback tends to reveal how a business is run.
Get a sample report – Before you buy a car, you should test drive it, right? Well before you pick an inspector, ask if you can see a sample of their work to determine whether they are professional and have the skillset you require. In other words, try before you buy.
It is important to consider these aspects when trying to decide who to get to inspect your house. You could even give them a call and ask whether they have time to answer some questions. A good inspector will be happy to tell you almost everything about their service.
