Hello all,
I am building in West Melbourne of, Victoria and looking for some advice on Independent Building Inspections for all 5 stages, once again.
It is 2025 I wanted to check in with some updated personal experiences of the Ozbargain community.
Darbecca and New Home Inspection are the most commonly used in Melbourne. Darbecca charges me about 3100 and NHI for 2800 if i pay within 24 hours of each building stage.
Thank you!
haha, smells like non compliant works !!
Inspectors not allowed.
what a shemozzle.
he is more than 3 times the amount in total.
Good. Fast. Cheap.
You can have two. If you’re going cheap, you’re missing one of the others.
Not necessarily saying that Site Inspections is definitely better because they’re more expensive, but are the other two cheaper than most others, or just cheaper than Site Inspections?
I admittedly enjoy watching Site Inspections posts and clips and are an amusing watch. The guy is good at what he does for sure, but I wouldn't touch this guy. He's more so a public figure nowadays hence why such exorbitant pricing!
Also, I wouldn't want my newly built home posted on social media. I've seen many of the ones he's done and know exactly where the build is. If my new home was also built to the standards similarly, I wouldn't be wanting others to know also!
Darbecca and NHI are very reputable, they are not cheap FYI.
He's more so a public figure nowadays hence why such exorbitant pricing!
Supply and demand….. People see he is 'good' so want to use him!
Also, I wouldn't want my newly built home posted on social media. I've seen many of the ones he's done and know exactly where the build is. If my new home was also built to the standards similarly, I wouldn't be wanting others to know also!
Meh, would only apply if you live in the area I guess.
But if your home was up to standards, it wouldn't make it on social media.
You can be expensive and not even be 'Good' & 'Fast'.
Good. Fast. Cheap.
You can have two. If you’re going cheap, you’re missing one of the others.
Applies to build as well. So if you have gone fast/cheap on the build, don't do the same for the inspector!
Nah, the guy is now smart enough to realise he making easy money by picking one new built a week that he can talk shit on and get money off viewer than doing dog's breakfast. He pretty much literally pick some easy job every experienced inspector can spot 5 miles away and everyone viewers getting fooled by his expertise. So of course he ain't taking your boring regular built where he might struggle to pick out a non-compliant item so the price rise.
Just like another mob going around the worst suburbs in the country and the shittest place on earth to talk shit and show the world and people just buy into his shittalks, everyone can be celebrity nowadays.
$9K really?
I paid $7k on my AMEX about 2 months ago and inspected a Roomy Share house of 8 bedrooms. Worth every cent! Our home builder was not happy at all and only accepted to fix some of the major defects.
Use that TikTok guy. My neighbour used him recently and found a crap load of defects
What was the price? Some here are claiming 3x the cost, so $9k per stage.
We used Darbecca, as we personally believed they had more presence and we found more positive feedback from other reviews on Google, FB groups etc. We built in the East though.
We built with Carlisle Homes and we found again lots of feedback that Darbecca had lots of experience in the way CH builds and what to pick up on and how they build.
An example to give you… The inspector picked up on a number of defects during frame stage that the building surveyor didn't, which we felt were very important as they were structual. CH accepted these and rectified.
As I understand, NHI are just as reputable too from the reading we did.
Ended up just being personal choice.
Also end of the day, it really isn't fully dependent on the company, your outcome really does end up coming down to and being determined by the inspector themself, and how experienced/good they are.
Lastly, the inspector can pick up so many defects, but the builder does only really need to fix what's deemed non compliant, stuff that the building surveyors classed as directions to fix, and lots of times the builder has performance solutions that back them up. That said, our builder was pretty good with fixing up stuff that they said they technically didn't have to do. It's all about picking your battles.
TL;DR I would still use a private inspector regardless. You're forking out at least over half million for a build, what's another $3-$4k
You're forking out at least over half million for a build, what's another $3-$4k
It's about a 0.8% price increase.
Peanuts, chum change, in my eyes for the peace of mind and value of service I'm getting. But each to their own 🤷♂️
$3000-4000 can buy many peanuts
and they can save you many times that in what they catch.
The inspector picked up on a number of defects during frame stage that the building surveyor didn't, which we felt were very important as they were structual. CH accepted these and rectified.
Most of these building surveyors are getting kick backs from the builder/framer, so do a drive by and go yeah its standing. Tick the box and drive on! But great to hear CH fixed the issues.
Lastly, the inspector can pick up so many defects, but the builder does only really need to fix what's deemed non compliant, stuff that the building surveyors classed as directions to fix,
Its amazing what the builder will just go, yeah that is a defect but too bad. Next!
Most of these building surveyors are getting kick backs from the builder/framer, so do a drive by and go yeah its standing. Tick the box and drive on!
This may be true to an extent and I too thought the same, it's natural to think the surveyor would be very biased towards the builder as they are contracted to them. However, this is just very narrow minded.
In my experience though, the surveyor do actually conduct a pretty decent job of picking up defects, hence they have a thing called "directions to fix". As an example, there were say 19 defects on the directions to fix, all had to be done to the satification of the surveyor. The builder needed 2 rounds to fix these up. The surveyor had to come back twice, as the 1st round all defects weren't fixed. It wasn't until 2nd round was when they gave the tick. The surveyor also is obliged to provide these reports to us.
Essentially, the building surveyor doesn't want to hold accountability for something they ticked off and was a serious major defect. The builder would simply then point the finger to the surveyor, which I'm sure that they wouldn't want.
For what it's worth also… I was all over the build myself, I was lucky enough to be living 5 minutes around the corner so I was frequenting the site. Many don't have this luxury, so again a private inspector would be even more important to get another eyes on the build.
I do believe my experience with CH and the build was very pleasant. I had a great relationship with the Site Supervisor. Again, it's a case of picking battles and not prematurely flagging 'uneducated' issues or concerns every second day, they hate when customers do this when the customer has no idea.
Having said all this, again I feel that a private inspector is still in my opinion a must, hence why I got one.
Its amazing what the builder will just go, yeah that is a defect but too bad. Next!
Yeah agree… That alternative performance solutions is their get out of jail free card. But again, if you have a good relationship with the Site Supervisor, they'll really go the extra yards. Pick your battles, can't say that enough!
Darbecca will cover a lot of major and minor of faults and their report is pretty broad , and NHI will cover within their range of australian compliance so definitely most of the major ones that will make it actionable for compliance. This lead me a struggle on which one to decide on.
See if your builder allows you to choose your own Building Surveyor as they are the ones who actually certify the build stages.
An inspector is helpful, but having a building survey who works for you would be a much better option.
https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/consumers/home-renovation-essenti…
This won’t help as much as you think in most cases, in fact it can even hinder the process.
When the builder has to deal with a different surveyor it can really slow down the building permit process leading to delays.
As mentioned above the volume builders all use credible building surveyors, they aren't taking bribes to look the other way, the scale is too big for stuff like that to happen with a volume.
There is pressure to pass the job because of the volume of work the builder provides but they won’t over look major items.
Where building surveyors miss items is in time spent on-site.
Without getting into details I’ll explain it like this.
A building surveyor will inspect 15-20 homes in 1 day.
A good private inspector will inspect 2-3 in one day.
The private inspector will probably work more hours than the building surveyor.
If you’re there longer and taking your time, you will see more defects.
Doing a custom build too in Melbourne, Site inspections have quoted $11k and Darbecca have quoted $4375.
I had Darbecca for my off the plan townhouse. There were a few things that they find like walls out of square that the builder ended up fixing, so money well spent from that regard. I feel like they could have done a better job on looking at cosmetic stuff as it was our first time building/buying and we didn't know what to look for.
I didn't feel very well supported by Darbecca in terms of getting things fixed. They just kinda throw the report over the fence and don't really provide much support in terms of convicing the builder to do anything, especially when the builder pushed back on the report and said it was wrong.
I felt like their report was a combination of valid things and standard copy+paste items that they probably put in every report.
I can understand that they can only make a report and builders either budge or not. can you please clarify me more on these standard copy paste items they document?
I used Darbecca about 7 years ago and agree with the sentiment in this thread.
thanks for helping me weigh my decisions on which inspector i can lean to
I agree with most of what you said except for that the pre-pour and frame inspection are the most important.
Yes they are the two most structural inspections but each inspection has its own merits and are structured to be at the milestones of the construction to give homeowners the best bank for their bang for their buck.
Yes, some individuals may need to prioritise some inspections over others but as highlighted by previous comments given the amount of investment we are talking about less than 0.5% the overall cost of the home and a good Inspector will probably improve the home anywhere from 15 to 25% in overall outcome which is pretty good maths.
Not to mention in 2023 the VMIA (insurer for all builders) paid out membrane (waterproofing) related defects at 3-4x more cost than any other building related claims.
So that’s an inspection I don’t think can afford to be skipped, if my clients are struggling with budget I offer it at a cheaper rate to other inspections.
For example, there was bubbling on my waterproofing. I asked darbecca for guidance and they said to send the report to the builder and ask them not to do any further works until I had reinspected the fix. The next time I saw the house the tiles were installed and darbecca's guidance was "oh well".
I wasn't expecting Darbecca to fight the builder for me, but would have appreciated some guidance on how to best have those conversations with the builder, what options I had to enforce etc. It was ultimately a report that the builder could ignore at will and I wasn't empowered to do much about it.
Copy paste items were mostly like scratches on colorbond to be replaced/repainted properly, not just sprayed as it would fade in the sun - builder sprayed them. Exterior panelling installed outside manufacturers spec - builder said as per design (builder provided it). Flexi duct installed instead of solid duct for fans. Etc etc
in the end what i hear, the most important parts were the slab pre-pour and frame report and final inspections. hmm this is a hard choice for me either go for one inspector that covers a lot of stuff that are major and minor faults even if it is copy paste work or one inspector that just covers the major things for compliance so that the report won't be too and maybe the builder would be more willing to rectify. It is really a hard dance for me to decide on
The domestic building contracts act is what allows a private inspector to conduct inspections on a homeowners behalf.
This is very good for the consumer but has its limitations; the builder is not obligated to talk to the private inspector at all.
I’ve been around a long time so I know ways to try get supervisors to deal with me directly to schedule inspections which simplifies the entire process. However, when it comes to following up on defects, that is the clients responsibility.
The best way I can describe it is that a private inspector acts as a conduit to provide the homeowner information they otherwise would not of had.
Big inspection companies don’t stray from these policies and leave it all up to the homeowner once they have the report.
Personally if you’re having an issue with the builder attending to an item then I’m happy to give some guidance at no additional charge if we it’s only a 2-5 minute chat on the phone (another benefit is you can actually call me).
That said, if it’s a high quality report with the right technical references and quality photos, it’s rare we get much pushback from a builder not to attend to an item as everything is in black and white in the report.
Any reputable building inspectors in NSW ?
This is important, reputable!
I can’t stress this enough.
Private inspectors are unregulated, there is nothing stopping anyone reading this from becoming a private inspector tomorrow.
The amount of pop-up building inspectors I’ve seen in the last 5 years who take people’s hard earned dollars and do one of two things really hurts the industry, they either:
pick items they don’t understand and are not correct, causing friction and issues between the builder client, hindering the build process.
do 5+ inspections a day take 20 photos, pick 3-5 items I could tell you are there before I even park my car and move on to the next job.
Most frustrating is they typically charge less than everyone else because they work on volume or quantity over quality.
Most people think all inspectors are the same and go with the cheaper inspectors, given most people only build a house once, even if you realise the inspector is taking you for a ride, it’s already too late.
There’s also another category of inspectors who enjoy being right and putting their ego before a clients needs but let’s stay away from that rabbit hole.
Source: Former Builder and Building Surveyor who works as a private inspector in in western suburbs of Melbourne for the past 6 years.
Source: Former Builder and Building Surveyor who works as a private inspector in in western suburbs of Melbourne for the past 6 years.
And …
Any reputable building inspectors in NSW ?
… the question remains unanswered 😂
( for Sydney ? )
And …
Sorry to clarify I was just qualifying that I’ve seen it first hand, what I’m stating is first hand knowledge, not something I’ve heard or read about.
… the question remains unanswered 😂
( for Sydney ? )
Haha can’t help you with Sydney sorry.
All I can say is I hope my advice helps you find someone reputable. If you can’t get a reference from someone you trust who has used them before, google reviews can assist in giving confidence you’ve chosen the right inspector.
Haha can’t help you with Sydney sorry.
It seems no one has established themselves as someone REPUTABLE in Sydney,
when QLD and VIC have their a couple of go-to inspectors.
I checked, a year ago, and wrote to some companies inter-state, and they couldn't help me either,
nor could they recommend me or point to anyone in Sydney from their perspective as well.
google reviews can assist in giving confidence you’ve chosen the right inspector.
I used to think much of Google Reviews, but over the last 2-3 years, I've noticed the reviews were getting gamed.
Having read some reviews and visited some of those establishments (eg. an accountant),…they ended up telling me, with a desperate smile, to give them a good 5-star review too…as they wanted to take me on board as a prospective client.
I used to think much of Google Reviews, but over the last 2-3 years, I've noticed the reviews were getting gamed.
They certainly can be but they can still be a good barometer of a business if you look a bit more closely.
For any business I always look at who has written the review, is the reviewer’s profile active for anything else? Establish it’s not just friends and family reviews, I don’t trust companies with less than 40+ reviews from mostly active profiles so there’s a good chance you can be more confident in them being legitimate.
Companies can ask you for 5 stars but there’s nothing stopping you from not doing the review, giving less stars, or revisiting your review and changing it if things go south.
A bigger issue I’m seeing is completely fake reviews.
I am currently assisting a client who has been scammed.
They have paid over $10K for works that weren’t even performed, a lot of the scope of work isn’t even real, the builder is lucky to have done more than $1Ks work.
The company looks reputable, they have a website that looks very polished with extracts of “google” reviews that are very favourable.
A little bit of digging and you will find that the company does not even have a Google my business page, the reviews are completely fabricated.
What little digital footprint they have are 2 complaints from people who claim to have been scammed but it took some googling to find and not everyone is going to do that level of research before engaging someone.
Remember there’s always a few Karen’s out there who can never be satisfied so don’t discount someone based off 1-2 bad reviews if a high volume of the rest are all good but nothing is better than a reference from someone you trust that has used that inspector before.
All of my work comes from referrals and I try not to send a sample report, anyone can send a report that looks impressive but often that’s not what you will be provided.
I tell a referral, ask your friend if they are comfortable sharing any of the reports we did for them because that’s the quality you will also receive (I won’t send the report of their friend directly as I respect privacy).
That way they know we actually provide a quality report, not just send a quality sample report but provide basic rushed reports once they inspect your home.
I was very happy with NHI after initially going through a smaller organisation. Outter SE suburbs, VIC.
What about site inspections