TPC Gold | Red Flags in Building Inspection Reports!

In today’s bonus episode, we’re diving into why building inspections are essential for every property buyer. 

Joined by building inspector and builder Paul Baker, we discuss how inspections help identify hidden issues that can impact both the safety and value of your property.  

A building inspection offers peace of mind, ensuring that your new home or investment doesn’t come with unexpected repair bills. 

Paul highlights some key red flags to watch for in the reports, from foundation issues to water damage and asbestos. And because the inspection industry isn’t heavily regulated, he offers his own tips and advice on choosing a building inspector. 

For the full episode, tune in here: Episode 153 | The Do’s and Don’ts: The Discoveries We’ve Learnt in Property Investing (PART 1) 

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Now That You Know What to Look for in Your Building Inspection Reports…

We hope this little snippet helps you in your next purchase – whether you’re searching for your dream home or the perfect investment opportunity! 

If you’re looking for support throughout the buying process, consider working with a qualified Buyers Agent.  

Buyers Agents specialise in finding and negotiating property deals on your behalf, ensuring you’re making informed decisions and getting the best value. They can also help you navigate building inspection reports, advise on potential red flags and offer guidance on properties that align with your financial goals. 

For personalised assistance with your next purchase, book a free appointment with a qualified Buyers Agent from our sister company, Empower Wealth. 

 

If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | Red Flags in Building Inspection Reports, You Might Also Like:

• Ep 45 | Why Should You Conduct a Pre-Purchase Building Inspection and What Could Go Wrong? – Chat with Paul Baker  
• Ep 166 | How to Avoid 7 Common and Costly Settlement Mistakes when Buying a Property – Chat with Nicole Faid  
• Ep 187 | How to Inspect Property Like a Pro! Chat with Andrew Mackie-Smith, Expert Building and Pest Inspector 

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Transcript

Bryce Holdaway
We are going to showcase today some of the best gold from their interviews Ben.  

Ben Kingsley
Let’s get into it, mate. I want to listen again. I want to reboot.  

Bryce Holdaway
Okay let’s kick it off.  

Ben Kingsley
Let’s get started. 

Bryce Holdaway
We interviewed Paul Baker regarding building inspections. And this is just insurance that no one should avoid.  

Ben Kingsley
It’s unbelievable how people try and avoid this.  

Bryce Holdaway
Let’s have a listen to some of this gold.  

Ben Kingsley
What are the things that they should be looking for inside that document?  

Paul Baker
Well, there’s a lot actually. So our standard report covers a whole range of things. And when you do read it, it does feel quite cold and like there’s a lot of issues with the house. But a lot of the issues in the reports are just general maintenance things. Building reports need to conform with Australian standards, so you need to cover off on a lot of things. So a lot of those things that you read in a report are just things that you would fix up in general day-to-day maintenance of a house.  

The things that you really want to look out for are all the footings and foundations; making sure that things are nice and level and straight. Cracks in walls are a good indicator of issues with foundations and water damage. Making sure that, you know, the place has been built correctly in the first place, making sure that all the members in the roof, for example, are correct and that there’s no issues up in the roof.  

Because a lot of people, when people go and look at places to buy, they might go to two or three opens and spend 15 minutes at a time in these opens. And there’s a lot to think about. You think about whether your furniture fits, (whether) there’s enough natural light, all the things that you think about when you’re wanting to buy a home. And there’s not enough detail gone into the actual structure itself. So what we try to do is just take that element out of it and you can just really concentrate on whether the home is suitable for you.  

Bryce Holdaway
Sometimes it’s not just big structural issues. Again, question with that notice, you might remember that one we did in Seddon, single fronted, a couple of weeks before Christmas and there was asbestos in the roof. Do remember that one?  

Paul Baker
Yep, I do.  

Bryce Holdaway
And part of your recommendation was to get that asbestos out of the roof, (which) would just be a monumental operation. And if you don’t, children who will be sleeping in those rooms will be breathing or potentially breathing those fibres. I mean, it didn’t have to just be stamps or footings. It was a precautionary tale there as well.  

Paul Baker
Yeah, well that’s right. So that particular house had been renovated and they put a false ceiling in which had covered all the asbestos. But then they’d come along and put ducted heating in and made penetrations in the asbestos in the roof. So the asbestos had been broken and hot air was being blown around. So it was just one of those things where nothing was wrong with the house, but it was just a real safety issue.  

Bryce Holdaway
What should they look for in terms of an inspector? What’s the minimum entry level for someone who’s doing your job?  

Paul Baker
Yeah, the industry is not regulated, so anyone can call themselves a building inspector. But if you are getting an inspection done, you would want to really look at the qualifications of that person doing it. So you want someone that’s obviously been in the industry for quite a while as a builder.  

Ben Kingsley
So a licensed builder is a good example.  

Paul Baker
Absolutely, registered builder. And what their background is. And just talking personally, our background’s in the building industry, the renovations and extensions. So we’ve spent a lot of time actually rectifying or fixing up old homes.  

Ben Kingsley
Beautifying old properties.  

Paul Baker
Yeah, that’s right. So all the issues that we personally see in the building inspections, we’ve (also) at one time or another had to deal with those issues.  

Ben Kingsley
You’ve got a good sense of cost – in terms of what it costs to replace all that type of stuff.  

Paul Baker
Absolutely, but getting back to Bryce’s question, what do you look for? You look for someone that firstly can communicate pretty well and so if there are issues you can talk through them and make sure you understand the process to getting them fixed, and you know the potential likely costs of getting them fixed. Someone that’s as I said been in the industry for quite a while and had some experience dealing with the defects; not just reporting the defects but knowing how to fix the defects.  

Ben Kingsley
And the consistency of their reporting…is that something you would ask? I know I would. Again, I don’t want War and Peace. I want a simple worded report that basically gives me some type of rating or whatever and obviously that’s why we’ve jumped on using you guys because of that.  

Paul Baker
So when we got involved in doing property inspections, there is an Australian standard to a report. So it was really important that we covered off on all the things that needed to be done. We try to keep ours quite simple and we try to use really simple terms. So when you do read ours, there are obviously obligations to report all the defects and issues with the house. But we try to follow it up with a phone call straight after the inspection and just sort of verbalise the report with the client, just to put them at ease. And then we try to do it soon after the inspection as well, so it’s fresh in our minds. And then when the report’s sent out, we invite clients to call us at any time to discuss any concerns that they have with the report.  

Bryce Holdaway
Do you know when you read a report and (see we) can’t get under the floor, you can’t see the ceiling, and you put that sort of in there to say, look, these things weren’t seen prior to making this recommendation. What recommendation can you give to someone who’s engaging a builder who can’t see those things…as to whether or not they should go ahead? Do you sort of give them: hey, look, in my experience, I think this could be a concern that I haven’t seen it, or in my experience I think it should be okay.  

Paul Baker
Yeah so getting under the floor is a good one because a lot of the places (particularly in inner western Melbourne) where I do a lot of work, the houses are built on stumps but sit quite close to the ground so you can’t get under a lot of the houses. And you can’t actually determine the quality of the bearers and joists and things like that, but there’s a lot of telltale signs as you walk through the house above the floor. You know a bit of springing on the floor. You can look at doors and door jambs as well.  

So if you look at the gap across the top of a door, (there) might be three or four mil in one corner and in the other corner it might be 15 mil which suggests that the house has moved and they’ve just planed the door to suit the shape of the door frame. Cracks above windows and doors, and cornice cracking is another one that suggests there’s been some movement. Skirting boards that separate from floorboards is another one. If you’ve got gaps, there’s a range of telltale signs that suggest that there’s some issues below the floor. You don’t physically need to be under there.  

Bryce Holdaway
And you just bring it to their attention that those are the signs you’ve seen. Veronica on the show, she always carries a marble. And I thought she was losing them at first. But she just sits and she puts it there and she just sees where it rolls just to get her (an) idea of where the floors are level on a pitch.  

Ben Kingsley
That’s a great little idea.  

Bryce Holdaway
So the thing has been, we help clients, we make sure that they get a building inspection all the time, but when you hear some of that stuff, just beggars belief why people don’t do that.  

Ben Kingsley
Correct. Hundreds of thousands of dollars invested for a small fee to get an indication of: there are some problems, what’s it gonna cost to fix them? I mean, for me…building inspections are about yay or nay. They’re about yay, it’s all good, like we hoped it was OR nay, it’s a no, there’s too much problems with the structural integrity of the building or there’s some issues with asbestos or whatever it may be. Obviously, that was a bit of Melbourne stuff, but if we’re thinking of different cities, they’ve got different problems. Some areas of Adelaide might be sandy, so is that a good foundation, is it a bad foundation?  

Bryce Holdaway
A fair bit of rising damp happens in Adelaide.  

Ben Kingsley
Adelaide, and then the moisture. Mold is a big problem when you’ve got high humidity in the areas of Queensland. So what are you doing about that? And the ongoing maintenance around properties in Queensland. If you’ve got weatherboard or timber, you’re gonna have to be on top of that maintenance program.  

Bryce Holdaway
My tip for anyone (from) someone who’s seen a lot of building inspections over the journey Ben, I always tell the client that we’re looking for two things: categories of major and minor.  

Ben Kingsley
Love it. 

Bryce Holdaway
So the majors are, are the structure okay and is there any termites? And if the answer is no to one or more of those. But the minor doesn’t become anything more than a maintenance list because people go, I’ve seen people try and crash on minor defects, but you essentially can’t, you may have a little bit of leverage for negotiation. But ultimately it’s usually established property, you’re buying it as is, but at least you know what your maintenance list is going to be once you buy the property and sell on it. But for me, Paul said, what to look out for, someone who communicates well and has good experience. They’re two fundamentals for somebody who’s looking for a building inspector.  

Ben Kingsley
So when you’re ringing around to find the best building inspector, obviously, you know, give Paul Baker a call. Compare that to: What do you want? Eh, can’t do that one, mate. Flat out. To: Yeah, I see where I can put that in. What are we looking at? I mean, you just know, don’t you, when you pick up a phone… 

Bryce Holdaway
The post building inspection phone call is critical because they were required in writing to make sure all things are brought to your attention. But it’s good just to talk, you know, I talk to Paul all the time. Hey, mate, on balance, what do you reckon he said? You know, on balance, just go and have a little chat. There it is. Yeah, you’ll know. 

Ben Kingsley
All right, mate. Beautiful.