Getting a building & pest inspection

What are building and pest inspections?

A building inspection (or property inspection) can uncover structural, conditional and/or design defects or problems in the interior and exterior of a property, some of which may not be visible at first glance. These can include:

Rising damp

Structural cracks

Faulty roofs

A pest inspection can uncover evidence of things like termite damage (although not necessarily whether termites are still present in the property).

A building inspector will typically prepare what’s known as a ‘property inspection report’ that must comply with the Australian Standard in order to be legitimate.

What doesn’t a building inspection cover?

A building inspection report generally won’t include an estimate of the cost of any repair recommendations or information on parts of the property that weren’t or couldn’t be inspected.

A building inspector will also not normally check things such as plumbing/drainage, electrical wiring, appliances or paint.

How much does a building inspection cost?

Typically, a building inspection will cost in the hundreds of dollars. Many inspectors will offer a combined building and pest inspection service for less than the cost of separate inspections. You may end up ordering an inspection report on more than one property during your house hunting though, so it’s necessary to factor this into your budget.

When should you arrange for a building inspection?

Ideally the inspection will be conducted before the exchange of contracts or during the cooling-off period. If the property inspection report convinces you not to go ahead with buying the property and you have already exchanged contracts, it’s important for you to know your cooling-off rights and implications of exercising those rights.

A building inspection typically takes around 2-3 days to complete.