Obtaining Building & Pest Reports before Purchasing a Property
One thing to remember when purchasing a property in Sydney is that when you sign the contract, you are purchasing the property in the state it is in at the time you purchase it. It is important to note that the Contract usually does not cover the condition or quality of the property, the buildings on the property or any pest issues.
The Contract generally covers matters relating to the transfer title and other legal related issues. When buying a house in Sydney, you want to ensure that the house you are buying is structurally sound and free from any foreseeable defects. You also want to ensure that the property is not infested with any termites, white ants or any other structural damaging insects or pests.
Building Inspection Report
Generally, if you are not buying a brand new property, you will generally be able to detect yourself minor visible defects to the property that may require minimal maintenance, basic repairs or simple cosmetic work. However, a building inspection will not only show these issues but may also detect structural concerns that are very difficult for a lay person to detect.
The building inspection report is conducted by an experienced and licenced inspector who has extensive knowledge and experience in detecting these sorts of issues. Usually, the inspector will inspect the entire property to identify any concerns to the property. The building report may also report on any concerning draining issues that may adversely affect the property.
Pest Inspection Report
A building inspection report generally may identify any damage that is caused by any pest or termite activity, it won’t include the detection of whether termites and other timber destroying pests still exist.
It is generally very difficult for a lay person to detect any pest issues present in a property. Although a building inspection report generally identifies any damage that is in sight that was cause by pests, the building inspection report will not determine where the pests still actually exists at the property. Pests such as termites, white ants and other timber destroying pests, can dramatically damage the insides of a property, thus adversely affect their overall value and living conditions.
A Pest inspection is again prepared by an experienced and licensed building inspector and will advise on any structural pests that may be currently affecting the property.
When to obtain building and pest reports?
As mentioned previously, when you purchase a property, you purchase it in the state it is in at the time you sign the Contract. Therefore, before committing yourself to purchasing one of the biggest assets of your life, we always recommend that you obtain a building and/or pest report either:
a) before you sign the Contract; or
b) during a cooling off period.
You can arrange these reports yourself, or otherwise, our Sydney conveyancing lawyers can help arrange these reports for you at no extra cost.
In summary, our Sydney Conveyancing team always recommends obtaining both a building and pest report for the following reasons:
a) peace of mind that you know exactly what you are purchasing;
b) helps determine and identify any and all serious defects with the property;
c) if there are any issues with the property but you are still interested it, identifying the issues may really assist you with price reduction negotiations with the vendor and/or their real estate agent; and
d) the costs of obtaining these reports compared to the price of a property price is really insignificant.
If you have any questions regarding building inspections and pest inspection reports, please feel free to contact our Sydney Conveyancing Lawyers on 1300 768 664.
DISCLAIMER: The content of this publication does not constitute legal advice and is intended only to provide a summary and general overview. We do not guarantee that it is current. You should seek specialist legal advice or other professional advice about your specific circumstances.
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