What is the importance of having a building and pest inspection when buying property you may ask.
Many buyers are so caught up in the exciting adventure that they do not see this as an important activity. I know of several buyers who chose not to have these type of inspections and after settlement, when they had their keys in their hand, found to their horror that there was extensive termite damage to the property, structural damage to the property which resulted in expensive repair costs which in some instances they had not budgeted for.
As we all know, termites are hungry little pests and like to work behind the scenes. They can gnaw away until roof trusses are almost unable to carry the load of the roof, or wooden window frames are hollow and need replacement. The wooden house frame too, is easy pray for these little munchers and they love to build large nests inside walls to have easy access to all their chewing endeavours. They will make a home too in an old tree stump or wood pile, anywhere where they have wood and water is an ideal environment for them.
Also, some buyers decide to have a combined building and pest inspection with one inspector. This could be to save dollars or by the inspector selling his expertise and your belief in his service. It is well documented that a good pest inspector is just that, they focus on the pests, where they are and how to eliminate them. A good building inspector is solely concerned with the structure of the building, they notice poorly constructed properties, give advice on work that will need to be performed in a period of time, including areas where there can be water damage and simple methods of having this protected or eradicated. The building inspector is a specialist who is a qualified builder. The pest inspector is a qualified pest inspector. There is a huge difference between the two.
These are always most important inspections when buying property. Don’t ever think ‘it will be OK’ or ‘I didn’t see anything unusual’. Always have as a special condition in your contract and this should be undertaken within seven days of the date of contract to ensure, if there are any problems, you can get out of the contract of sale on the property. This is money well spent.
Always get some quotes for this sevice too as there are varying fees and don’t always take the lowest quote as it may just be what you really don’t want, a casual inspection, which does not find a problem.
Once you have a property, it is good to consider a pest barrier system which will protect your home. Always read the fine print as you may be required to have a pest inspection on an annual basis to validate the terms of your pest protection policy.
Happy house buying!
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