Why You Need a Building and Pest Inspection for Your New Home Purchase

With the property buying market now on a surge within Sydney and across Australia, home buyers have been taking full advantage of the lower mortgage interest rates and cheaper housing costs over the past few years. As tempting as it can be to jump at a bargain, there are unfortunately very few legislations in place to protect new buyers once the contractual obligations have been signed – and this can often result in regrets once a property has changed hands.

It’s not just homes either, in fact commercial premises can also come packed with their own issues that can often be all but invisible without the proper knowledge of how and where to look. From pest infestations right through to damaged walls and dangerous structures; it can be incredibly important to ensure that proper inspections take place before signing on the dotted line. Anything less than this can end up being very risky.

Why you need a building and pest inspection for your new home purchase

Before even considering putting in an offer, it’s advisable to seek professional building and pest inspection services from a licensed agency that specialises in this subject. Although the majority of home owners will walk into a transaction with good intentions; there are some that may attempt to mask any issues that their home might be suffering with, or even try to outright hide them from potential buyers until it’s too late.

In these cases, it’s not unheard of for new buyers to have to invest thousands into rectifying any issues that may have arisen previously (and outside of their control). These events are becoming more and more frequent, especially with government legislations still waiting to be passed to allow previous home owners to be prosecuted should they attempt to mislead new buyers. And this is why it can be so important to hire an inspection agency; whether the inspection is for the structural integrity of the building, or to evaluate a potential pest infestation.

The benefits of knowing ahead of time

Although there will typically be a (small) fee associated with hiring these types of services, the peace of mind that they can provide could be worth much more than cash. For example, if a building inspector is hired to evaluate the condition of walls, the home’s framework and other structural points and a major issue is detected, then the purchase can come to an end without obligation in favour of keeping the new buyers and any inhabitants safe.

Likewise, where some pests can be obvious to spot (such as cockroaches, mice and birds), others are a lot subtler such as fleas, ticks and lice. Even termites fall into this latter category and this is why having a specialist come out and check for issues can be so important. Furthermore, if they spot any problems, most agencies will be able to point the buyer in the direction of a pest treatment company; or even take care of it themselves.