Do I Require To Conduct A Building and Pest Inspection Before Purchase?

Posted by Neale Johnstone on March 16th, 2021

A building and pest inspection is done after signing the relevant contract is normally done by two independent professionals. The building expert will typically look at the structure of the facade, ceilings, doors, windows, walls, and any adjacent structures, check for items like cracks, weaknesses, asbestos, and movement among others. The pest inspector, on the other hand, looks for infestations such as cockroaches, ants, termites, and mold. They also check the presence of radon gas in the home and for leaks in the pipelines, plumbing, and roofs. Most inspection companies have their own team of inspectors to inspect the premises if the building owner requests it.

The scope of a building inspection depends on the type of deal that was signed. It may be just a general check-up to detect minor problems or it could be much more thorough as serious defects are often found during a building inspection. For example, a home seller has the building inspection done for defects in the foundation of the house and within the walls while a home buyer requires an individual inspection of appliances, roofing, heating system, and plumbing system. Usually, buyers do not require structural or electrical inspections, but they could for instance for the presence of lead paint, which is dangerous for young children and for pregnant women.

During the building inspection, some minor defects that do not go away by themselves may end up becoming major problems later on. A couple of them include structural damage, leaks or gaps, and pests. Minor damages include cracked ceiling tiles or wall cracks which may cause the formation of air leaks and humidity problems; wall cracks may lead to moisture accumulation and eventual rust formation; the presence of termites could mean that termite infestation is imminent, especially if the construction company used a non-repellent insecticide during the construction process. A few of these issues would require immediate repairs while some may take some time and are simply maintenance issues. Nevertheless, these repairs or maintenance issues may help save you from more costly repairs and could possibly help prevent further damage.

Building and Pest Inspections are usually carried out in different stages of the construction process. A ground test inspection usually takes place before bidding on a construction project, while a foundation inspection typically takes place once the foundation has been built and is under warranty. A structural inspection usually takes place at the time of closing while a Pest inspection may take place after the building is completed. In any case, all of these inspections are required by local government requirements and should be carried out by a competent and licensed professional to ensure that your investment is sound and suitable for the intended use.

Even if the building inspection report on the property shows no major flaws, you still need to conduct the necessary repairs or replacements. These inspections are often part of pre-sales preparation and it is possible that there may be things that the initial report did not find and these could have potentially caused damage to the building. In addition, you may find that there were serious design errors that were made during the construction. Either way, it is important to make sure these problems are corrected before your insurance policy expires.

In the end, it really depends on what you're hoping to gain from a building inspection. For some, it can be very useful in determining whether there were any problems with the initial design and whether they should be brought to the owner's attention prior to purchase. For others, building inspections can be used as a tool to detect structural damage and other types of problems that could affect the long-term stability of a structure. Ultimately, it really depends on what you are hoping for. While there are many reasons to get a building inspection, it all comes back to protecting yourself and your investment.