Do you really need a building /pest inspection.?

I wonder if its really any use to getting a building and pest inspection especially for apartments?
I think i can check out property myself without such need unless its a house in which i probaly would get one, but apartments i doubt theres need.

Have you ever passed on the building and pest

 

Yes only on two properties that were expected to be knocked down in under a five year period.

Otherwise I would always arrange to have one done as I don't have the knowledge.

 

Generally speaking you would not get a P&B on a unit. Since if you purchase you will be a member of the BC or OC, you will be partially responsible for everyone else's building. So if you want a P&B you should get one on every unit in the complex- which would be cost prohibitive.

A strata search should show a building issue history and a pest control treatment (or lack thereof) program history.

 

Agreed with Propertunity on the strata-titled property front.

Ive never actually bought a detached house before, though I have ordered and paid for B&P reports that have seen me back out of a deal or two :/

 

If you get a full BC inspection of records search to see if there are comprehensive meeting minutes and if comprehensive that helps. But I have still seen many B&P inspection reports that pick up things that need fixing.

 

Its only a few hundred dollars. Worth it every time in my opinion.

 

I guess the problem with DIY B&P inspections at houses is you get wet feet peeping in windows and dirty looks from Neighbours when inspecting the internals of the letterbox.

pinkboy

 

It's a relatively small cost that I personally would fork out for - definitely the building inspection anyway.

Cheers

Jamie

 

You cannot assume that the strata report will detail all or any issue. If you have a poor to fair strata agency managing complex. often items are not documented, go missing etc.

 

In my experience most people don't really act on a building report. They look at it, note a few defects, decide they're okay with it and proceed with the purchase. It could be argued that a lot of the time the money is wasted.

That said, occasionally people find some fairly significant problems and decide not to proceed with a purchase. Certainly it's not that often but I've avoided purchasing an apartment myself based on a building report. In most cases these people go on to purchase an alternative property which is a better deal.

It could thus be argued that whilst most building reports don't have a significant return on their outlay, those that do have a return give back in spades. Certainly they average out on a cost benefit basis far better than any insurance policy you'd ever purchase.

 

I recently inspected a beautifully renovated unit within a complex of 12.
Conducive conditions to termite attack excluded it was hard to find fault,however upon entering the roof loft space I discovered that the firewalls were non compliant and posed a major risk to all of the complexes residents,not to mention the insurance implications.
For the small cost incurred, building and timber pest inspections should not only be viewed as presenting the opportunity for immediate monetary gain but also the addressing of health and safety issues and the medium to long term gains that may be made by attending to maintenance issues before they become major problems.

 

What about if it's a brand new property (regardless of building type), would building and pest report still necessary?
Wouldn't whatever the defects are the developer would need to fix under his builder insurance?

 

Yes LATS, in WA you would meet with your builders representative and your representative/building inspector at practical completion and list all defects that require attention.Your builder then has a period of 4 months to rectify these defects.
With regard to the timber pest,a new building should have both slab and perimeter treatment warranties normally for a period of 10 and 7 years respectively(Perth,WA) although as per the Australian standards it is still advisable to have annual inspections completed.

 

Townhouses definitely. Found quite a few costly things that were the individual owners responsibility.

However the inspectors also miss alot of stuff that comes up within the first year that they could have found..

Apartments maybe not, but I'm not the best one to answer as I haven't bought any recently.

 

Yep, when we knew we'd knock down the house in 12 or so months.

 

@MsAli: I'm confused. Why is that you need to get the report when you are going to knowck it down anyway ?

For an apartment unit, I guess the Strata report should be sufficient while for a townhouse & a house it is imperative for sure.

Now, the thing is... in this hot investing season in Sydney and Melbourne nowadays, we do not have the chance to get P&B inspection due to auction and Section 66W negates the cooling off period anyway.

 

We didn't get a report

If you're serious about bidding then get a report beforehand

And depending on your deposit I would go in with full approval or a valuation at the very least..though that counts for very little in a hot market. I don't like auctions.

 

Yes that's true @MsAli & @monalisa i also don't like auction especially at this market.

I've just outbided for about $138.000 and $150.000 respectively for a unit in Carlton & house in Belmore.

People still bidding like crazy this weekend in Sydney.

 

So.... are you still adamant on buying ?

 

I'm trying my luck in Sydney market...
Who knows I got some bargain.