Important Questions When Hiring a House Inspector

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Important Questions When Hiring a House Inspector
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Never sign a contract before showing it to a
competent solicitor working on your behalf, not
someone recommended by the real estate agent.
There are many clauses used in the industry that
may bind you to the contract regardless of
faults found by building or pest control
inspectors.
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Do not accept reports arranged by the current
owner or real estate agent they will more than
likely be biased! You may not have any legal
recourse against the inspector that has not been
hired and paid by you if undisclosed problems are
found later. Insurers of building and pest
control firms usually demand a disclaimer be put
in their report against third parties. Check with
your legal advisor.
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Make sure the inspector does not disclose
any information regarding the outcome of the
inspection with or in front of the agent or
current owner, this can lead to arguments also
biased opinions from unqualified people. Make
sure your Inspector is aware of this,
before employing them.
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Do not use unqualified friends or relatives to
carry out inspections on your behalf unless they
have the appropriate inspection licenses and
indemnity insurance. You dont want to have to
take legal action against a relative or friend
when something goes wrong.
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Be aware your lender does not arrange or carry
out inspections, they do valuation appraisals
only. You must arrange building and pest
inspections yourself.
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Do not allow the real estate agent to dictate
who you may or may not use to carry out
Inspections on your behalf, this should ring
alarm bells! Remember the agent has a vested
interest in selling you the property regardless
of problems.
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Do not use building or pest control
firms recommended by the real estate agent.
Collect brochures and cards, ask the agent for a
list of their referrals that do favorable
reports for them to achieve a sale, so you know
who not to use. Watch out for Inspectors or
companys that are eager to contact their
friend the agent and arrange the inspection for
you.
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Do not allow the real estate agent or current
owner to misinterpret the building or pest
control report to suit themselves, they are not
qualified and will be biased.
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Before anyone is employed to do your
inspection ask to see their Registered Building
License and check the expiry date. Check if their
professional indemnity insurance policy is
current.
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If the inspector claims they are licensed to do
pest and building, ask how long they have run a
pest or building business for, before doing
inspections. Do they have the necessary
experience?
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Do not talk to the inspector until they have
completed the inspection, so you do not break
their concentration and you know exactly how long
the inspection has taken. Remember it is an
inspection not a social meeting. Ask questions on
completion of the inspection.
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Do not employ anyone that does generic tick box
or check point reports which lack detailed
information on specific problems The report
must comply with the Australian Standard AS
4349.1 property inspections Part 1 Residential
buildings
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Make sure the Inspector has the appropriate
equipment to carry out an inspection. Ladders,
torch, moisture meter and a camera. Thermal
imaging devices are sometimes helpful to back up
they should already know, but are not a necessity
as they can mislead you into thinking there is
nothing wrong, when there is a problem, this can
be a costly mistake.
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Watch out for inspection services that offer
guarantees that limit their liability to a
minimum they may not be covered by professional
indemnity insurance
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Ask the inspectors what areas they access and
cover in their reports before employing them. Try
to be there during the inspection to ensure the
inspector accesses all areas they said they
would. Especially the roof exterior and roof
interior (past the access hole). If the inspector
does not want you to be there during the
inspection, you dont want them!
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Does the Inspector take photos of problems also
for proof of areas accessed?http//www.inspect
east.com.au