Common questions we have received about our building inspection services

Knowing as much as you can about the condition of the property before you buy will help you avoid problems and extra costs down the track. The best way of doing this is to get a pre–purchase property inspection report – commonly known as a building inspection. It will tell you about any significant building defects or problems such as rising damp, movement in the walls (cracking), safety hazards or a faulty roof to name a few. It is usually carried out before you exchange sale contracts so you can identify any problems with the property which, if left unchecked, could prove costly to repair

• There are three good reasons why you should get a building inspection report done before you buy a property: 
   
  • So you will know in advance what the problems are.
  • So you can use the information to try and negotiate a lower price for the property i.e. you may have to pay to repair some of the problems
  • So you can get specialist advice about any major problems and how they will affect the property over time.

• Inspections carried out by Edward Mullarkey a licensed builder, he knows what to look for and will see through any cosmetic improvements covering up faults that might otherwise be missed by an untrained eye.
• The report of the findings after the professionally carried out building inspection are in strict compliance to Australian Standard AS4349.1 and AS4349.0
• Edward Mullarkey Building Solutions carries full professional indemnity and public liability insurance for your peace of mind.  

• The Pre Purchase Building Inspection is carried out in accord to Australian Standard AS4349.1 which states  that  all normally accessible areas of the property are to be inspected including: 
   
  • Building interior
  • Building exterior
  • Roof exterior 
  • Roof space
  • Subfloor 
  • The property including fences and any out buildings that may be present.   

• Normally the following are excluded from a Pre Purchase Building Inspection:-
   
  • any individual Minor Defect;
  • solving or providing costs for any rectification or repair work;
  • the structural design or adequacy of any element of construction;
  • detection of wood destroying insects such as termites and wood borers;
  • the operation of fireplaces and chimneys;
  • any services including building, engineering (electronic), fire and smoke detection or mechanical;
  • lighting or energy efficiency;
  • any swimming pools and associated pool equipment or spa baths and spa equipment or the like;
  • any appliances such as dishwashers, insinkerators, ovens, stoves and ducted vacuum systems;
  • a review of occupational, health or safety issues such as asbestos content, the provision of safety glass or the use of lead based paints;
  • a review of environmental or health or biological risks such as toxic mould;
  • whether the building complies with the provisions of any building Act, code, regulation(s) or by-laws;
  • whether the ground on which the building rests has been filled, is liable to subside, swell or shrink, is subject to landslip, earthquakes or tidal inundation, or if it is flood prone; and
  • in the case of strata and company title properties, the inspection of common property areas or strata/company records.
    Investigation of any of the above would require a special purpose property report that was adequately specified.

Ideally the pre-purchase inspection should be scheduled early in the cooling off period. You need to allow enough time for the consultant to carry out an inspection, forward the report to you  and for you then to ask any questions or have other recommeded inspections carried out in order to make an informed decision.

Eddie Mullarkey Building Solutions provides a comprehensive written Pre Purchase Inspection Report in accordance to Australian standard AS4349.1. Photographs of defects observed at the time of inspection are included in the report.
You may view  a sample pre-purchase building report to gain a better understanding of the extent of the report.

It depends on the size of the property, but it can be as little as one hour for a small apartment up to three or four hours for a large house.

No. All inspections carried out by Eddie Mullarkey Building Solutions are inclusive of a written report. This is usually required by your solicitor and lending authority.

Usually Eddie Mullarkey Building Solutions can carry out the inspection within two days of request. Note that this can vary greatly depending on the workload at time of ordering.

We encourage you to contact Eddie Mullarkey after you have read the report and he will happily explain anything you do not understand in the report or to answer any other questions that you may have.

No, Eddie Mullarkey Building Solutions  concentrates on the real work of inspecting the building.

Yes. Eddie Mullarkey Building Solutions may charge travel expenses and fees if the property is located more than 50 km from our office at East Jindabyne.

If an inspection scheduled with Eddie Mullarkey Building Solutions is cancelled or postponed less than 24 hours prior to the appointed time we will invoice the full quoted price.

If anything it's more important to have the house inspected before it's five years old so that any defects can be rectified before the builders warranty expires.

No. While we look for evidence of termites and other timber problems such as rot, cracking and splitting we have to stress that ours is not an official termite inspection.
We use reputable local pest inspectors who are adequateley insured for this work and are happy to organise the inspection on your behalf if you wish us to.

Eddie Mullarkey Building Solutions tries to make the inspection process as easy as we can for you.
We will contact the person you specify in the booking form for access to the property.

Yes. If necessary Eddie Mullarkey Building Solutions is available to carry out your inspection on weekends. No extra charge is made for this service.

On request Eddie Mullarkey Building Solutions will make another inspection to check that problems identified in the original report have been addressed.
Follow up inspections are charged at hourly rates.
Please note that a follow up is only possible if the work is still visible.