Looking to understand what is involved in a Pre-Purchase Building Inspection? The following provides an overview of our building inspection checklist, it's not an exhaustive list, as many items will be unique to a property, but acts as a minimum list of items to check. Inspections should be done by a qualified person, this checklist is not designed to replace an expert inspection, rather a list of things to consider when reading your inspection report. Should you require an inspection,schedule an inspection online
Before we jump into the detail of what we look for when doing an inspection, let's first align on what a Pre-Purchase Building Inspection is and what it is designed to achieve.

Under the Australian Standard that governs Pre-Purchase Building Inspections (AS 4349.1-2007), the purpose of an inspection is an attempt to understand the condition of the building structure of a property through a visual inspection. The report is required to outline major defects and provide an opinion as the general; condition of the property in relation to its age and the building standards at the time the property was constructed., in order to inform a prospective buyer or other interested party, prior to making a purchase decision. The inspection includes accessible parts of the building and any relevant features on the property within 30m of the building and within the boundaries of the site, or as otherwise agreed in the pre-purchase inspection agreement.

In this context, "relevant features" include car accommodation, detached laundry, abolition facilities, garden sheds, retaining walls more than 700mm high, paths, driveways, steps, fencing, earth embankments, surface water drainage and stormwater run-off.

Note: Inspection of Strata and Company Title residential property will be limited to the nominated residence and does not include common property.

Building Types
The building types that are suitable for this checklist will be residential, these will include:
Freestanding houses
Semi-detached houses
Villas
Terrace Style houses
Multi-unit residential buildings

Inspectable Areas:
Areas that are to be inspected will include:
The interior of the building
the Exterior of the building
The roof space
The sub-floor space (if applicable)
The roof exterior
The property withing 30m of the building
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Type of Defects
The defects identified should be categorised into 1 or more of the following:
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