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Case Study Pre-Purchase Building Inspection Client called us based on a referral a few weeks earlier. He had found the home of his dreams, a place for his growing family. The home had three bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as a rear sunroom, pergola and timber deck to entertain family and friends. Being his first home, a pre-purchase building inspection and pest inspection was booked. In the course of the building inspection, our building inspector started to become suspicious of some dodgy work. Upon further investigation, a number of building faults were found:
- The deck for the pergola and sunroom had been built above the weep holes and damp-proof course (DPC). The timber was too close to the ground, which will eventually cause the timber to rot and is conducive to termite infestation.
- The sunroom side walls were constructed of non-structural timber, which could result in bowing and collapsing and simply didn't comply with any Australian standards for habitable rooms.
- The roof was leaking due to the incorrect flashings.
5. With these faults present, it was doubtful that this structure was approved by council. In our reports, we therefore recommended that our client check with council to see if it had been approved. The shoddy workmanship continued with the double-length carport, and our client later discovered that none of the improvement structures had been approved by council. The report highlighted that if these structures were not council approved, they would need to be removed and/or demolished, as they would not get certification due to the many building faults. The house itself was built well originally and, for the majority, structurally sound, though dodgy modifications and repairs were noted. After reading our report, our client called to discuss the report and his options going forward. These options included:
Option 1:
Continue with the purchase knowing council may issue removal notices at any time, leaving client with the headache of dealing with it.
Option 2:
Reduce the offer for the home in order to cover the removal and rebuilding of the improvements properly, estimated at $30k to $50k in costs.
Option 3:
Walk away and continue looking. Client decided that he wasn't prepared to take option 1, as his budget wouldn't allow him to deal with the unknown cost associated with dealing with the problems. He did consider option 2 but in the end, went with option 3 because he felt duped by the marketing of the home, which used unapproved additions as main features, and no longer felt comfortable with the purchase. Our client called again to thank us for our knowledge and honest, straightforward advice. Considering the potential strain it would have put on their budget, the cost of the inspection was the best money he has spent, saving him tens of thousands of dollars and time. Our client confirmed that he would not put an offer on a home that wasn't subject to a Beyond Built building inspection.
