Why get a pre-purchase inspection
KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BUYING
The listing shows you the house on its best day. We inspect the one you are actually paying for, before you commit to it.
Our inspectors are independent. We are not recommended by builders or agents, and we do not soften a report to keep a sale alive. Site Inspections has inspected over 7,500 homes across Melbourne, regional Victoria and interstate, and our Google profile sits at 4.9 stars across 197 reviews.
A good portion of our pre-purchase work is second opinions: people who already paid for an inspection that did not properly investigate, and knew something was still wrong. If a report reads like it was written from the driveway, it probably was.
What’s included in our pre-purchase reports?
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS
There is an Australian Standard for pre-purchase building inspections, AS 4349.1. Our inspectors treat it as the floor, not the finish line, and the report is written so you can act on it: every defect photographed, with the standard or requirement it fails against, and plain-English advice on what it means for the purchase.
The report assesses:
- Defective and non-compliant work
- Conditions conducive to damage, including moisture markers a camera can see and an eye cannot
- Major safety hazards
- Photographic evidence of every finding
- Advice on the significance of each defect and how it can be resolved
We report on every accessible part of the property:
- The interior
- All internal walls, cornices and ceilings
- Wall & floor tiling
- Wet areas, checked for possible leaks
- Doors, architraves & skirtings
- Window and door frames and glazing
- Taps and waste pipes, tested
- Ventilation
- Inside the roof space
- Roof coverings, fascia, gutters and eaves
- All external brickwork walls and cladding
- Ground levels around the house
- Under the house, if built on stumps
- Steps, paths, driveways and paving
- Garage, carport and garden shed
- Fencing and retaining walls
Where something needs opening up or specialist testing before it can be diagnosed properly, the report says so rather than guessing. If thermal imaging or moisture mapping would settle a question, we bring the equipment that answers it.
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Not every home has problems, and not every problem is expensive. But you cannot know that from an open-for-inspection walk-through, and by the time you can, you own it. An inspection turns the biggest purchase you will make from a guess into a decision: you either buy with confidence, negotiate with evidence, or walk away before the money moves.
Hidden water damage, structural movement, non-compliant work, safety hazards, and the conditions that lead to them. Often the buyer already suspects something and wants to know how deep it goes. The report tells you what it is, how significant it is, and what resolving it involves, so you can decide whether the price, or the purchase, still makes sense.
A week is the typical lead time, and we keep a wait list, so when a job is rescheduled a slot opens up, sometimes at short notice. Real estate deadlines are real deadlines, so tell us your dates when you enquire: if you’re genuinely up against it, our inspectors will work after hours to get it done. The report is normally with you within 24 hours of the inspection.
Every job is quoted, because a four-bedroom house on stumps is not the same inspection as a two-bedroom unit. What moves the price is the size of the property, its accessibility, and what you want covered. Tell us the address and you will typically have a figure back within 24 hours. Against the cost of a defect you find after settlement, it is the cheapest part of the purchase.
Yes. Apartments and units get the same treatment as houses, adjusted for what is accessible, and off-the-plan purchases are inspected before settlement so defects are documented while the developer still has to answer for them. Common property issues that affect your lot get flagged too, and where they warrant it, an Owners Corporation report.
New does not mean compliant. We have found missing steel in slabs, and framing that did not match the engineering, on builds that had already been signed off. On a newly finished home the right check before you settle is this inspection; if the home is still being built, that is what stage inspections and a handover inspection are for.
ENQUIRE ABOUT A PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION
Send an enquiry now and you will speak to a highly-qualified building consultant, not a call centre. Tell us the address and your dates and we will tell you what it costs and when we can be there. Our thorough inspections uncover the problems before you buy, Australia-wide.