Limited Information in Vendor Building Reports
‘Building Reports’ from Real Estate Agents
Sydney real estate agents are often offering a building report to prospective buyers. The vendor building and pest reports are commissioned by the current owner to assist in the sale of their property. While this on face value is a good idea, it can in some cases have issues of a conflict where the person selling the house does not want too many issues raised. So the reports provided can be of limited value where there can be a conflict between a report which fully discloses all defects and issues and a report which assists in the sale of the property.
It is worth remembering that Building Consultants are not licensed and it is not mandatory to have Professional Indemnity Insurance. Add to that, often the limitation of the report is that it is for the benefit of the owner and a purchaser is excluded from any benefit or claims in respect of the report.
In recent times we have been asked to inspect buildings where a vendor report is vague in many areas and does not give a reasonable indication of the extent of an issue or the relevance or otherwise of the issue raised. We have found people with vendor building reports being unsure as to the relevance of a defect and if it is a deal breaker, a defect requiring attention or a maintenance item. We have inspected an old building where it was noted that dampness was found. There was no indication of the type of dampness, severity, where it was located and a method of repair.
A purchaser can reasonably ask what is the extent of this issue, when should it be attended to, will it adversely affect the building and to some extent, a budget estimate for repairs.
At DHBA we can provide a pre-purchase building inspection report where we can give more professional information on issues raised in a building, the relevance of that issue and a solution or method of overcoming defects and issues raised. Speak to us today and see how we can help you be confident in your property purchase.
