Vendor Supplied Building/Pest Inspections

[Barnesy]

Sorry - I know there are a few inspection posts recently.

We are interested in a 50 year old property that is scheduled for auction. The vendors have purchased and provided building & pest inspections for the place.

My questions are:

Can these be considered as reliable as inspections done ordered by purchasers? Do you recommend buying our own inspections?

The only issue in the report that concerns me is about the brickwork/settlement cracking. It says:
"General settlement/movement/cracking to N/W & S/W brickwork maybe associated with age, site conditions &/or reactive nature of clay foundation material. Undertake maintenance/repairs to affected brickwork to include installation of control joints &/or replacment of displaced/damaged bricks as required"

How do I know if this is something major or not? I am not the client of the inspector and so presumably can't call for advice. Is there another service that will help me decipher the report?

Many thanks in advance.

Andrew

 

[yorkiefish]

building report

hi , get in touch with the inspector and speak to them, they are usually very approachable and see what they think, also ask if they have public indemnity as well, the report should be the same as if you'd done it as they are legally bound to report any faults as its there insurance that would copp it , not worth it for the company for $300 dollars or so.

where ids the house, if in melbourne there is virtually not a house that has had no movement with the last 10 yrs of drought, how big are the cracks? should be a huge problem, speak to the neighbours as well and see if they know anything, they're always a good source of info.

good luck.
yorkie.

(carpenter)

 

[Gremlin]

Personally I'd be somewhat suspicious of a vendor supplying a B&P in a market where they are not obliged to do so (I'm assuming the property is not in the ACT here).

If I was considering the property I'd still undertake my own B&P done by a professional of my choosing who is answerable to me. If there's something seriously wrong with the property it's easy for the seller to get three or four B&Ps done and then only present the "best" one to the potential buyers.

 

[Gremlin]

hi , get in touch with the inspector and speak to them, they are usually very approachable and see what they think, also ask if they have public indemnity as well, the report should be the same as if you'd done it as they are legally bound to report any faults as its there insurance that would copp it , not worth it for the company for $300 dollars or so.

Whilst they should be approachable, bear in mind that the Professional Indemnity insurance is likely to insure only the party that commissioned the report against loss, not unrelated third parties. So whilst the report may be the same as what they'd produce for you, you potentially have no recourse if it proves to be negligent. It is up to you to decide whether it is worth the risk.

You may commission the same guy to produce the same report for YOU (and probably be able to negotiate a reduced cost), but if it were me I'd still be having an independent inspector assess the property.