Home Buyers Beware! Scary building inspection report.
Home buyers beware! Yesterday we had a scary building inspection report on a property that a client wanted to buy in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton.
To the eye, the property looked dated and needed a bit of updating but it was in a good location and close to transport. We did not expect some of the feedback that the professional pre-purchase building inspection provided. After consultation with our client, we will not be bidding at the auction this coming Saturday.
Here is just some of the feedback:
“I inspected the dwelling earlier today and unfortunately, things didn’t weigh up as well as was hoped for with the inspection of the property. Externally, there is significant rust in most of the guttering and downpipes surrounding the dwelling roof, professionally re-pointing the roof needed, repairs to the rotting timber fascia boards and refitting of the eave lining boards to the south-east corner of the roof, cracked and broken tiles on the roof that will need to be swapped over as well as correctly realigning the cement tiles on the roof which have moved noticeably out of position above the brick firewall between both dwellings, a lack of stormwater drainage to prevent any water seepage inside the garage when it rains especially to the rear of the garage, rust in the metal valley irons on the roof and deterioration to the glass skylights.”
“The brick paving in the rear courtyard of the dwelling has also been affected by tree root interference from the large peppercorn tree in the adjoining property and there is also another tree in the rear courtyard that is pushing up against the South boundary timber paling fence.”
“Finally, when they installed the gas ducted heating system in recent time they have blocked off the access panel to the sub-floor area so I couldn’t gain any access to assess the stumps and sub-floor framework. Having the brick air vents around the outside of the dwelling rather than metal sub-floor wall vents greatly restricts any airflow to the sub-floor area and should be replaced with new metal wall vents.”
What you can see at a property is just as important as what you can see
On inspection of the property Buyer Solutions team noticed that the floors were uneven and so we asked the builder for specific comment on this. Here is his answer:
“There is also noticeable undulation in several of the rooms inside the dwelling caused by more likely deterioration in either the stumps beneath the dwelling or possibly the sub-floor framework. The squeaking floorboards have been caused by shrinkage in the sub-floor framework which isn’t uncommon considering the age of the property but I did notice several floorboards which appear to have been affected by termite damage at some stage.”
“These large peppercorn trees are a popular nesting area for termites and without being able to gain access to the sub-floor area, it’s hard for me to comment on whether or not any termite activity or damage has occurred beneath the dwelling. Inside the roof, one of the timber roof beams has been cut through when installing the bathroom skylights and would need to be strengthened.”
“The under bench oven in the kitchen doesn’t retain the heat very well as I could feel all the wall from the up and coming out through the side and top of the door. The kitchen range hood also vents back into the room rather than up and out through the roof.”
“Several of the timber doors and windows are rubbing and would need to be planed by a carpenter to allow them to operate smoothly I would also recommend replacing existing battery-operated smoke alarms with new wired in smoke alarms to help increase fire safety and have an experienced electrician carry out a safety check of the electrical wiring inside the roof which has gradually aged over time.”
We do our due-diligence so you don’t lose out
Most of these works could not be identified on a walk through the home at a busy open for inspection. So, this information is priceless to our buyer. Estimates for remedying these faults are between $30,000 to $40,000 and some things may not be able to change. For example, is the Pepper Corn tree protected? Could it ever be removed or would you have to live with it and the problems that go with it?
At Buyer Solutions, we aim to make the buying process easy, stress-free and most importantly to buy well. In this case, we agreed with our client to look elsewhere and buy something else with fewer problems. Our home buyer isn’t wanting to do a lot of work. Further, they do not want to have to deal ongoing with a potentially slack Owners Corporation, as getting works done to the entire development could be arduous.
If you want to know more about using a buyers agent when you are property buying, visit our website as we have lots of resources for both investors and home buyers there.
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