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Building and pest inspection Cairns – 2 mistakes to avoid

Building and Pest inspection in Cairns can protect you from visual, hidden, and concealed building defects when buying a property in Cairns.

Buying a house, unit, or townhouse for your family is the biggest investment you will make in your life. You would be foolish if you decided to do it without knowing whether the property has any structural or major problems.  It is not like any other large expense such as a car, boat, or any other expense where you will seek some sort of warrantee.

Unfortunately, real estate is totally different ball game and you are no warranties when it comes to buying properties, so it is important to make sure that you not buying one swamped with issues.

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This is where building and pest inspection can help you in Cairns. The combination of inspections will carry out a non-invasive visual inspection of a property to list out fatal risks, safety hazards, and serious defects. Basically, the inspector will evaluate the condition of the property in comparison with other properties of similar age and type. The result of the inspection is provided to you in the form of a detailed report which is compiled to help you make a more informed and confident decision about the property you are intending to buy.

The inspector has to be qualified and licensed to conduct both building inspections and pest inspections. Do you know that these inspections are only required to be a visual inspection as per Australian Standards?  A good inspector will use many modern tools and equipment such as moisture meter, laser level, and thermal imaging camera. The inspection will also include checking all the accessible finishing timbers inside a property looking for termite damage. This means that you need to do some research to find a good building inspection. Here are 2 common mistakes you should avoid when getting the building and pest inspection in Cairns.

Choosing a company offering very low prices

There are companies that offer inspection quotes way below reasonable prices. These companies are able to offer such low prices only by playing volume games.  The companies have many inspectors on roll performing 8 to 10 inspections per day. This means that your home inspection will be done in 20 minutes. In this short time, the inspector can only have a casual look inside your house see obvious problems. The inspector will check only a few necessities and provide you with a template report which is practical of no use. To save a few dollars, if you end up with a bad home inspection report then you running against the time arrange a second inspection. Finding a building inspector and verifying all credentials in a short time could be risky. You may have only 2-3 days left of your conditional tenure. In just a few hours you need to get the report and repair estimate. Making the biggest financial decision of your life in such a short time would be stressful and risky.

Getting references from a real estate agent or mortgage broker

Your real estate agent and mortgage broker have a conflict of interest when referring a home inspector for you. Let’s consider a scenario that you liked a house in Cairns but want to have a building and pest inspection. The real estate agent recommends you inspection who you hire. As the agent will make money only if this sale gets through and an inspection report can jeopardize it. So the agent will collude with the inspector to provide you with a report to help the sale. Similarly, your mortgage broker will make a commission if the sale of property gets through and will try to avoid anything that can come in the way.

You should avoid hiring an inspector referred by a vendor, agent, or mortgage broker and do your own research. You can take the help of the Building Inspection Council to find a good and competent building and pest inspector in Cairns. We are a not-for-profit organization that helps property buyers in Cairns with free quotes from experts. The best thing about being a not-for-profit community service is that we do not have a compromise for profit and you get the best service at the lowest prices. For Quotes, click building and pest inspection Cairns.

You should do comprehensive research as finding a quality inspector is very difficult. Ask your friends and family or conduct online research.  The problem is that you have only a few days to find an inspector and contemplate the report. You can take the help of the Building Inspection Council – a not-for-profit organization that provides free quotes from pre-verified inspectors in Cairns.

There 3 main factors you should put extra focus on when choosing a building inspector, Qualification, Experience, and Price. The inspector should be qualified and experienced. Only a qualified and experienced inspector can provide you with a qualified inspection and inspection should not cost you a fortune.

A local inspector is more familiar with common building and pest defects in Cairns. This information helps the inspector to find the problems readily in your future house. They know what to look for and where to look in. 

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