Frequently Asked Questions

Peace of mind. Not all Building Inspections or Pest Inspections will uncover major defects, safety hazards or timber pests; the house that you think is fine is the one that will have the problems.

For such a small percentage of the overall cost, a Building and Pest Inspection really is total peace of mind and you know you’re buying the property with your eyes wide open with no hidden faults or costly repairs.

A lot of houses we inspect have been renovated and touched up by the home owner.

They look great from the outside, but more often than not we find safety defects in the roof space, rotting stumps under the floor and substandard workmanship elsewhere.

The home renovator tends to believe that if you make it attractive to the consumer the house will sell for a higher price. When the purchaser arranges an inspection by BIA we find things that will cost you dollars.

A Termite Inspection is great when you can get under the floor because you can see all the entry points that termites use to gain access to the timber frame, but houses on concrete are different. Termites do more damage to houses on concrete slabs because they usually have concealed entry into the building and can spend a long time munching on the structural timber without you knowing.

Many people believe that bricks and concrete stop termites entering their home, it’s actually the opposite. Termites only need a 2mm gap in the brick mortar, around pipe or cable penetrations or even a break in a termite barrier system to gain concealed entry into the house.

Houses on concrete slabs are HIGH risk and Termite Inspections are essential.

An average inspection take around 1-2 hours to complete. BIA Consultants require full concentration while undertaking a Building and Pest Inspection so nothing is missed.

We do encourage you to attend the inspection but prefer you to come toward the end when we can spend as much time as you need to go over the things we have found or uncovered.

It’s really important to ask your Inspector if he or she is insured.

The Pre Purchase Building Inspection industry is completely unregulated and many (so called) Inspectors do not have insurance and believe it or not, it’s not required by law! Your Inspector should have Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance for both Timber Pest Inspections and Building Inspections. BIA Building Consultants are fully insured for your peace of mind.

You could get your friend or friend’s friend or dad to inspect your home, but that’s not the way to have a Pre Purchase Building and Pest Inspection done.

You will not receive a comprehensive Building or Pest report, they will most likely have no Professional Indemnity Insurance and they will not look in all the places an experienced and professional Building and Pest Inspector will look.

Their overall impression may give you the green light, but what about the places they didn’t look? BIA consultants look EVERYWHERE and we are experts at our trade.

We require payment for your inspection prior to the inspection. Credit card details are given to us when you make a booking and the payment is processed on the morning of the inspection.

You can also pay by direct deposit; however we require you to email through a transfer receipt the night before the inspection takes place for confirmation of payment. We also require credit card details in case of cancellation.

We accept only MASTERCARD and VISA.

Yes, there is a cancellation policy. In the past we have had people cancel an inspection 10 minutes before the job and as you can appreciate, we are all busy and run to a strict work schedule so we had to put a cancellation policy in place. We require at least 12 hours notice for cancellations and a $30 administration fee will apply.

For cancellations made within 12 hours the full fee will apply.You can cancel by email, direct phone or message bank.

If the property is for private sale the ideal time to have your Inspection completed is in the 3-7 day cooling off period after the contracts have been signed.

However it is wise to consider having the inspection completed prior to signing the contract. If the property is going to auction the inspection should be completed as soon as you know you are serious about bidding.

This is to give you time to go over the report and talk to your Inspector about all of your concerns and adjust your budget accordingly.

We can usually complete the Inspection within 24 hours of the booking and the report will be sent within 24 hours after the Inspection takes place.

Yes, the Inspector will list your concerns and pay special attention to those areas during the inspection. The findings of your concerns will be detailed in the report along with other significant items.

We pride ourselves on our report writing. We do not use simple check lists – we put a lot of time and effort into our building reports. All significant defects are itemized with photos attached for ease of understanding. The finding are listed under each inspection area listed below:

 

• Building Interior
• Building Exterior
• Roof Space
• Roof Exterior
• Under Floor (subfoor)
• The Site

No. Asbestos Identification is not included in a Pre-Purchase Building and Pest Inspection, which is in accordance with AS4349.1 and AS4349.3. BIA is one of the few Building Inspection companies who offer separate Asbestos Identification Inspections.

You can ask for this type of inspection to be included with your Building and Pest inspection.

The inspection usually takes between 1 and 2 hours to complete onsite.

We take between 100 and 150 photos per inspection and compile a detailed report, which is emailed to you within 24 hours.

Yes. Some Building Inspection companies do not look in the hard to reach places. Some simply can’t fit into small areas under floors and in roofs or are not agile enough to walk on roofs.

BIA Consultants go beyond the minimum requirements of AS 4349.1 and AS4349.3. We find most major defects and termite infestations in the hard to reach areas where other Inspectors won’t look.

Just call us.

We are known for our excellent customer care and ongoing phone assistance to ensure that you have complete clarity and disclosure about the property and the report.