Building and pest inspection report

Discussion in 'The Buying & Selling Process' started by Amitgupta5, 7th Aug, 2020.

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  1. Amitgupta5

    Amitgupta5 Member

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    Hi Team,

    I have signed a Contract for a 15 year old property.
    B&P inspection report came up with multiple issues, few major issues as well.

    Although there were no live termites, there seems to be some treatment done earlier. Is it really a point of concern.

    Need your inputs on how should I proceed forward.
     
  2. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    What did the report actually say about the past termite damage? What were the other issues raises?

    Not enough information.
     
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  3. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

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    Yeah buy it. Its obviously perfectly the safest risk....

    But i am not qualified to know
     
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  4. Amitgupta5

    Amitgupta5 Member

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    Hi Wylie,

    some of the concerns:


    1. Big trees near house. Roots might damage the structure.
    2. Ceiling tiles broken
    3. Sagging ceiling.
    4. Wet area doors are not sealed.
    5. En-suite shelf is bowing and leaning.
    6. Rusty hoses to sink taps
    7. Grouting issues
    8. Swelled garage door
    9. Few roof exterior defects
    10. Few cracked pointing steps to ridge
    11. Wood rot to retaining wall and fences
    12. Past Termite treatment. There was a sign of the same
     
  5. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I'm no builder, and we've generally bought houses that have needed plenty of work, so here are my thoughts, from the information above (which isn't that helpful for some of the items).

    1. Roots - you could have root barriers installed, or if the trees are on your own property, could be trimmed or cut down (with approval if required).

    2. What sort of ceiling tiles? Are they not plaster ceilings? Are they those square foam 1970's tiles over the top of a plaster ceiling? If so, they should be removed when you can, because they are ugly. :D... I cannot imagine what other sort of ceiling tiles you could mean?

    3. Sagging ceiling sounds like you may have had water leak onto a plaster ceiling (maybe from the pointing that needs to be sorted out?) Are there foam style tiles glued over the top of the plaster? How bad is the sag? Could it be re-screwed and re-glued to the existing timber supports?

    (I am thinking of a house our son bought with plaster and those ugly foam tiles glued over the top. He tried scraping them off, but there was so much glue left, he dropped the ceiling and had a new one installed.)

    4. Are the bottoms of the wet area doors swelling? If not, then painting them to stop the moisture getting in is an easy fix. If they are swollen and/or peeling at the bottom, that could mean a new door... not a lot of money, but needs painting of course. We have an IP with a similar issue. One day we will replace the door, when it gets worse.

    5. Ensuite shelf bowing and leaning doesn't give enough information. Does the whole vanity need replacing? Or is just a case of needing a new, stronger shelf or extra supports added. What condition is the vanity in?

    6. Rusty hoses to sink taps. Easy fix.

    7. Grouting issues? What are the issues? This could be simple, or not, depending on what the issues are. If the grout is mouldy or just dirty, that's an easy fix.

    8. Swelled garage door. What is it made of? Seems a bit odd, but maybe you mean a single door from garage to house and not the actual garage door for the opening a car will drive through.

    9. What are the "few roof exterior defects". If you have any loose or dislodged tiles, perhaps that's why the ceiling is sagging. Roofer will quote on fixing that and the repointing where needed.

    10. Cracked pointing steps to ridge, sounds to me like the ridge tiles are ok but need repointing. I would think this wouldn't cost much.

    11. Wood rot to retaining wall and fences. This could be a big issue or not, depending on the height of the retaining wall, the extent of the rot in the fences.

    12. Past termite treatment could mean the house has had termites, or has been treated to keep them away. Is there damage to any studs, joists, in the ceiling, under the floors?

    Again, I'm no builder, but the wording on a lot of those items is not very clear. Did you talk to the building inspector? Often inspections read so badly, you want to run a mile, but the inspector will say "not so bad, might just need this done, and that done, might cost $5k all up to make good".

    If you didn't get to talk to the inspector, I'd be calling and asking specific questions about these issues, whether they need fixing, or whether he's just pointing out every little thing that is not perfect. And a building inspector should be able to give a ballpark figure on what you'd need to spend immediately, down the track or doesn't need doing.
     
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  6. willair

    willair Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    That list all centres around the roof,and by the sounds there will be internal damage within the roof space for the deflections in the ceiling to be noticeable and a roof replacement then ceiling upgrade will be very costly and once you strip it all back there will be other unseen problems,a bit archaeology the deeper you dig the more you find..
    There is an old saying in QLD with termite damage ,if they don't find any they have not looked hard enough,is this a large block of land..imho ..
     
  7. balwoges

    balwoges Well-Known Member

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    Walk away ... :eek: