Hi Everyone,
First home buyer here.
Just after some advice.
I am planning to buy a new 3BR, house in Darwin. My conveyancer told me it is best to get,
Electrical, plumbing, status and condition reports done, eventhough it is brandnew.
She recommended inspectors they work with (same company), quoted Electrical - $380, plumbing $480, status and condition $800.
I have few questions,
- Is it a good idea to go ahead with people they suggested or should I try to find inspectors on my own
- Are there any licencing bodies / how to find reputed inspectors/ quality of the job; I am bit worried, despite the high fees they might miss defects etc
- Are there any companies who could possible do all above reports under one package
Sorry for my ignorance, I am very new to this.
Any advice is much appreciated, thank you for your time…
I bought in August. Who is your conveyancor? In the current market anyone involved in real estate in Darwin is scrambling to get business, but unfortunately there are still a few dodgy/lazy conveyancors in town. And yes definitely get inspections done as I am aware of some new properties being built verrrry quickly, and being signed off with dodgy work done.
I rescinded a purchase in August on an older property over some issues that would have cost me tens of thousands. The inspection reports for that property cost me about $2500 and I'll never get that money back or be able to claim it as a tax deducation against any rental/investment properties, but I'm still glad I had them done because the property I ended up buying was much less problematic.
Those prices you quoted are close to what I paid. The conveyancor is working for your best interests and since they order reports all the time, they should know who generally provides the most comprehensive reports and gets it done in a reasonable time frame, so I think it's safe to go with whoever they recommend. Sometimes the seller will offer you a copy of a report they had done, to discourage you from getting your own independent report - I would be more suspicious of them than your conveyancor TBH. For my last purchase, both the seller and myself were even using the same conveyancing company, just different conveyancors. They said I would only need to go to another company if there was a dispute, and everything turned out fine in the end.
I would recommend you get the following reports done:
^You could probably skip this for new properties, but termites can still be in the garden, trees or somewhere else close to the house. Subterranean termites are common in the Top End and can do serious damage, and in fact my colleague had to spend tens of thousands repairing termite damage because the guy he sent to do the pre-purchase inspection failed to identify them.
^If this is done by a structural engineer they usually do the condition report (below) at the same time.
And yeah, best to get different companies to do all the reports. I don't think there is any one company that has plumbers, electricians, structural engineers and pest inspectors all at once. If you think about it, all of those areas are very specialised and you would only really want an expert to be doing the inspections rather than a company that claims to be a jack of all trades.