12 QUESTIONS YOU MUST ASK BEFORE HIRING A BUILDING INSPECTOR

The 12 must questions to ask before hiring a building inspector help you scrutinize good inspector from bad one.

A building inspection is a must when buying property in Australia to tell you the actual condition of the house and building inspection is effective only when done by a qualified building inspector and finding a good building inspector is a difficult task as the market is flooded with un-qualified building inspectors.

The industry is unregulated and anyone can start providing building inspection services. Also, families buy a maximum of 1 or 2 houses in their lifetime so they do not have any experience to identify a good building inspector. The situation is quite disastrous especially when it is about the biggest financial investment of your life.

One sure shot solution is that you choose your building inspector through the Building Inspection Council. We have a pre-verified building inspector based on comprehensive criteria. As we are a not-for-profit community service, we do not compromise on anything for profit and you are guaranteed to get genuine quotes from expert inspectors.

Building Inspection Council has compiled the list of 12 questions to ask before hiring a building inspector in case you decided to do your own research.

1. Ask for a copy of the license

License is not mandatory in Australia except in one state (Queensland). Building Inspection Council is advocating to make licenses mandatory for the building inspection. A license ensures some minimum standard of service in the industry. You can confirm if building inspectors have other licenses in the building industry.

2. Ask for a copy of the Specific qualification

Building Inspection Council has observed that many building inspectors have training only as a builder. Although it is a quite comprehensive qualification but not enough to be a qualified building inspector. We recommend having special training or education (such as an Advanced Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Surveying) in the building inspection field.

3. Ask for a copy of the insurance cover

Confirm with the building inspector if they have adequate insurance to cover any unplanned situation. A building inspector should have a minimum cover of $2M for professional indemnity and $5M for public liability. You should ask for a copy of the current insurance cover.

4. Ask for any professional memberships

Memberships of professional associations are another way of confirming the credentials of the building inspector. These professional associations have their own scanning and verification procedures before issuing memberships. Also as everyone knows someone in the association, so it is impossible to make fool out of association or bodies.

5. How much is the experience?

Building inspection is a hands-on job profession. It takes a fair bit of experience to be a competent building inspector which you should confirm with the building inspector. Ask them when they started working as a building inspector. Date of their qualification, Membership issuing date, date of license, and local references can help to access the experience of the inspector.

6. What do they cover in building inspection?

Building inspection is a comprehensive inspection of the property which covers the property site, the exterior of the property, the interior of the property, the exterior of the roof, the interior of the roof, and footings. There are some exclusions to it and you should confirm with the building inspector if exclusions are genuine. For more information about what is covered in building inspection, you can read “WHAT IS COVERED IN THE BUILDING INSPECTION?“

7. What they do not cover in building inspection?

Building inspections do not cover parts of the building which are not safe to access. You should confirm with the inspector about the exclusions during the building inspection. For more information about what is not covered in building inspection, you can read “WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE BUILDING INSPECTION?“

8. What tools they will use?

A building inspection is only a visual inspection of the property but good inspectors use modern tools also. These tools enhance the efficiency of the inspection many fold. You should confirm with inspection about the tools they are using.

9. What are the common building defects in the suburb or area?

This question provides you 2 types of information, first about the experience of the inspector and second about the knowledge of common local building defects. Every area is more prone to a particular type of building defect and this knowledge helps the inspector to identify the defect efficiently.

10. Do they provide a written report?

Some building inspectors will offer you a discount for the verbal report and naive property buyers fall for these traps to save some money. Such building inspectors are highly probable to be unprofessional. You should avoid such inspectors and ask for a written building inspection report that complies with Australian standards (AS 4349.1 – 2007).

11. Do they provide follow-up service?

A building inspection is not only about handing over the inspection report. A good building inspector will spend time explaining the content of the report in an easy-to-understand format. The inspector will stand with the report in case any conflict arises.

12. Ask for a copy of the Report.

You should ask for a copy of the report from their recent building inspections. The report will give you an idea about the detail they cover during the building inspection. A report should be easy to understand along with photographs of the defects. For more information about the content of the report, you can read “WHAT IS INCLUDED IN BUILDING INSPECTION REPORT?“

These 12 questions to ask before hiring building inspector certainly lessen the uncertainty about the qualification and competency of the inspector. It is important that you do not get careless with building inspection as a single missed building defect by an incompetent building inspector can ruin the whole dream-home dream. The most certain way to hire a qualified building inspector is through Building Inspection Council. We are a not-for-profit community service and provide free quotes from qualified building inspectors in your area. Building Inspection Council pre-verify each building inspection before they can send you quotes so that you do not have to ask questions before hiring a building inspector. The best thing about being a not-for-profit organization is that we do not have to compromise on quality for profit and you get guaranteed quotes from the best inspectors. FOR FREE QUOTES, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Why building inspectors must be licensed?

Regulation or license means some minimum standard when delivering a service. Right now, the building inspection industry is unregulated in Australia(except Queensland). This opens the flood gates for the incompetent and unqualified building inspector to take the advantage of the situation and deliver the services to innocent people.

For more information, read “WHY BUILDING INSPECTORS HAVE TO BE LICENSED?“

What is the best way to hire a building inspector?

The best way to hire a building inspector is through Building Inspection Council. Building Inspection Council is a free community service that provides free quotes from pre-verified building inspectors in your area. They verify the inspectors on the basis of comprehensive criteria which can never execute. You are guaranteed to get genuine quotes from the best building inspectors in your area. FOR FREE QUOTES, YOU CAN CLICK HERE.

Who can do building inspections?

A building inspector must be qualified with extensive knowledge of the Building Regulation, the Building Code of Australia, the Building Act, and various construction practices in the building industry. The building inspector must have an understanding of different building trades such as plumbing, bricklaying, gyprocking, tiling, etc.

You can read more about on “WHOM TO HIRE FOR BUILDING INSPECTION?“