Pre-purchase house inspection checklist

If you’re in the process of purchasing a property, there are a number of things to keep in mind beforehand. Our house inspection checklist covers off some of the most important tasks you’ll need to take care of before and after buying.

Between the time you inspect a property and make an offer and the time you settle and it becomes yours, there are a number of potential issues that can come up, and problems that might need to be solved, whether these are structural or financial issues.

From building and pest inspections through to searches relating to the property and its title, a house inspection checklist can help you keep track of what you’ll need to do. We’ve separated ours into two lists – pre-purchase inspections and land and title searches.

Pre-purchase house inspection checklist

1. Personal inspection
2. Building inspection
3. Pest inspection
4. Surveyor’s report
5. Swimming pool inspection
6. Pre-settlement inspection.

Land and title search checklist

1. Title search
2. Registered plan search
3. Land tax search
4. Bankruptcy search
5. Contaminated land search
6. Council development and main roads search
7. Local authority and water search
8. Council zoning (town planning) search
9. Body corporate records search.

What pre-purchase inspections will you need to do?

From casting your own eye over the house or apartment you plan to buy, to having professionals inspect it for potential defects, a thorough pre-purchase inspection will give you a good idea of what physical shape the property is in.

1. Personal inspection

When a property is for sale, there will typically be an inspection, during which prospective buyers can walk through to get a sense of the space, its layout and possible defects. If possible, it can be worth attending multiple inspections, and even bringing a friend or other trusted person along to act as a fresh set of eyes and spot any defects that you might not.

When inspecting a property yourself, it is also important to consider factors such as the overall character of the neighbourhood; whether there are any major construction projects nearby (ongoing or planned); and whether the house is close to facilities and amenities that are important to you, such as public transport, schools and parks.

In terms of the property, you may consider factors such as noise and natural light, and check  light switches and door hinges to make sure they are all in good order. You may even wish to check the taps yourself to see what the water pressure is like, and also check to see if you can spot any signs of mould or termite activity.

When inspecting, you may consider whether the property has sufficient car parking for your needs, and whether it is in a flood zone may be important to you. You can research the cost of insurance (house and car) in the area you’re planning to buy relative to your current property, and if you’re buying an apartment, it could be a good idea to check the strata ownership costs.

2. Building inspection

While it is important for you to visually assess a property yourself when inspecting it, this alone may not be enough to ascertain any potential structural defects or concerns. For this reason, it is important to enlist a qualified building inspector to conduct a pre-purchase assessment of the property. A building inspector will typically consider factors such as:

• plumbing
• doors and windows
• roofing, gutters and downpipes
• in-roof and under-floor crawl spaces
• fences and retaining walls
• garages, carports and garden sheds
• stairs, floorboards and structural support beams
• rising damp
• water drainage on the property
• the presence of asbestos.

A building inspection report should highlight any major defects in the property or issues that need to be rectified. Some sellers may even obtain a building report when putting their property on the market, and may provide it by request.

If a building report brings to light any issues that need rectifying, you may be able to negotiate a lower price with the seller in order to save money for repairs down the track.

3. Pest inspection

A pest inspection is often done in tandem with a building inspection, and is a visual inspection undertaken by a licensed professional to identify any presence of pests on the property. A pest inspector may be able to detect evidence of a current or past infestation of pests such as termites and borers, and should assess any damage that they may have done to the property. A pest inspector can make recommendations or suggest techniques to put in place to manage a pest problem, as well as to potentially prevent a future one.

4. Surveyor’s report

A surveyor’s report can give you a report showing exactly where the boundaries of your property are, and alert you to any blockages. This can be especially useful to have if any future disputes arise with neighbours about the boundaries of your property.

5. Swimming pool inspection

Swimming pools must meet the safety regulations of your state or territory, including having safety and CPR signs in the area and appropriate fences, and must also meet the required construction standards for your state or territory. It is important to make sure that the pool at a property you plan to purchase is compliant. Moreover, you may wish to obtain a report to make sure that the pool itself is structurally sound.

6. Pre-settlement inspection

The final inspection or pre-purchase inspection is one that you do in person just before settlement – often on settlement day or two to three days before. This is actually the last step, after all your other inspections and searches are complete. It is your last chance to check that everything on the property is in the condition you required when you signed the contract.

For example, is the home vacant? Have all the previous owner’s belongings and rubbish been removed? If the previous owner had a tenant who was reluctant to leave, did they do any damage on their way out?

Have all the conditions of the contract been fulfilled, such as cleaning or painting? Do all the fixtures and fittings work (e.g. dishwasher, air-conditioner)? Have the gardens become overgrown and abandoned since you agreed to purchase the property?

If any of the conditions of the contract have not been met, or there is a major issue with the property, then the seller will be in breach of the contract and you as the buyer should have the right to delay settlement until the issue is fixed.

What land and title searches will you need to do?

While properties can have obvious structural defects, there can also be various legal ones that are not apparent to the eye, and may only come to light when a lawyer or conveyancer undertakes searches related to the land and its title. Many of these searches can be undertaken by a conveyancing specialist acting on your behalf, but it is still important to know about what they can entail.

1. Title search

The title search gives you the correct address of the property you are buying, confirms that the seller is currently the true owner, and provides details of any encumbrances on the property. These can include easements granted to local councils or the state or territory Department of Main Roads to allow gas, water, or sewerage to flow through the property. They can also be restrictive covenants, an example of which might be a stipulation that all the properties in an estate have to stay looking the same on the outside, so you can’t renovate or change external elements.

2. Registered plan search

The registered plan search will show you the boundaries of your property and those of your neighbours.

3. Land tax search

Sometimes, unpaid taxes on a property can pass on to the new owner. CommBank advises that, when purchasing a property, you may wish to apply for a land tax clearance certificate, which will protect you against any unpaid land tax that may be owed by the seller. A conveyancing expert will likely be able to do this on your behalf. It is also worth noting that land tax is generally not paid on a primary place of residence, so it will affect investors more than owner occupiers, but you may wish to ask your conveyancing expert for further clarification.

4. Bankruptcy search

If the seller of a property is a registered bankrupt, they may not have the legal right to sell it, and this can have implications for the sale. A bankruptcy search can bring up any possible red flags in this area.

5. Contaminated land search

A contaminated land search lets you know if the property you are buying is on the government’s contaminated land register. For example, the property may previously have been used as a dump, a mine, or an operation using hazardous substances.

6. Council development and main roads search

A council development search will show whether your local council may have approved the development of a huge block of apartments, or if a shopping centre will be built next to your new home over the next few years. This could mean construction noise, added traffic and disruptions to your routine.

Likewise, the state or territory Department of Main Roads might have approved a motorway, busway, railway, or airport runway to be built nearby – in which case they can usually make a certain amount of noise 24/7. One of our staff members, for example, recently moved house because they were so sleep deprived by the noise coming from the construction of a nearby railway extension.

A conveyancing expert may be able to conduct these kinds of searches for you at your request.

7. Local authority and water search

A local authority search will inform you of any outstanding rates due to be paid for the property. This search reveals whether there is a fixed rate that applies to the bills for water and sewerage on the property. It will also warn you of any outstanding water bills that you would have to pay if you bought the property.

8. Council zoning (town planning) search

If you have bought a property as a fixer-upper, you’ll need to know whether you are actually allowed to renovate it under relevant council zoning laws, and to what extent. If you are planning a major renovation involving structural changes to a property, you will likely need council approval, but it may be pointless purchasing a property in the first place if you know you will be unable to conduct the work you want. A conveyancing specialist can do your council zoning search, also called a town planning search, to find out what kind of alterations are approved for a property.

9. Body corporate records search

For a strata property such as a townhouse, unit, or apartment, it can be worthwhile to obtain a copy of the last few years’ worth of annual general meeting minutes for the owners corporation; financial details of the administrative and sinking funds; and details about problems previously repaired (or not), such as any issues with plumbing, drainage, fencing and driveways. You may want to know, for example, if there are any owners in the complex who are behind on their body corporate levy payments, or who are involved in some kind of dispute and are refusing to pay.

What if your property doesn’t pass an inspection?

Most property inspections are not a pass–fail matter. Pre-purchase checks are important though, and will give you valuable insights and information to consider before and after buying. The report you obtain from a building and pest inspection, for example, can let you know in advance what to expect from a property, helping you decide whether or not you really want to buy it.

Some pre-purchase inspections may reveal things that are deal-breakers for you. For example, if the cost of repairs needed is more than the property is worth to you, you may not want to purchase it after all.

A contract of sale for a property can be made conditional on the results of a building and pest inspection, and if you are unhappy, you may wish to back out of the sale, or ask for a reduction in the sale price to take into account the money you’ll spend fixing defects.

Original article by TJ Ryan.

Cover image source: UfaBizPhoto/Shutterstock.com