New South Wales

What is Caveat Emptor?

Increasingly property buyers are aware of their responsibility to discover building defects before sale – this is known as the Latin principle Caveat Emptor or ‘buyer beware’. The full quotation is ‘caveat emptor, qui ignorare no...
Read more

Asbestos - Not Just About Housing

FEATHERS were flying in Red Hill last week when neighbours discovered asbestos sheeting was being removed from a disused chicken shed near their properties. First reported in the Southern Peninsula News (6 November 2018) the story continues: Mo...
Read more

Save $1000s With a Depreciation Schedule

Investment properties are a great way to secure your financial future. As an informed investor you’ll want to take advantage of all of the tax benefits that are available to residential property investors. Who wants to pay more tax than they need t...
Read more

Building Inspectors Break Secrets

Building inspectors break secrets. It’s their job to do so and we wouldn’t have it any other way. They’re in one very real sense property detectives. It’s fraudulent for a vendor to knowingly conceal defects according to the law. This incl...
Read more

The Case For More Home Inspections

Building surveyors are calling on Victoria’s state government to mandate balcony inspections. This follows the tragic balcony collapse in Doncaster East in late 2017. Sadly, two people died and many others were injured, according to The Age. In ...
Read more

Inadequate Site and subfloor drainage

A sub-floor is the structure and crawl space between the lowest floor and the ground. High moisture levels in these areas promote fungal decay and other timber pests such as termites. All sub-floors and crawl spaces should be considered as having ...
Read more

What Does Jim Know About Building Inspections Anyway?

ACTUALLY, QUITE A BIT MORE THAN WE EVER REALISED! We recently discovered that Jim Penman’s dad was a forensic engineer. From an early age Jim’s father was investigating materials, structures and their components which failed o...
Read more

The Science Of Inspections

There’s a science to property inspections. Seriously. Because while your average inspector can and does spot problems, a trained inspector can find problems behind problems and other easy-to-miss issues. What’s more, he or she is less likely t...
Read more

Common defects found in homes

Are you buying a home or investment property? Here are some of the common defects that our building inspectors in homes. Termite damage The advantages of getting a vendor report before putting your house on the market. Termite damage was found ...
Read more

November is Asbestos Awareness Month

Yes. It’s that time of year again. November is Asbestos Awareness Month. Why Asbestos Awareness Month? It’s a national effort with a noble goal. Asbestos Awareness Month is about fighting ignorance through education. The aim is to increase awa...
Read more