Victoria

Re-stumping red flags

A guide to Re-Stumping Re-stumping - or re-blocking as it's known in Victoria - is big business in Australia and can be a very costly exercise, particularly if you don't know what you're looking at and you don't understand what you've bought into....
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Is Your Smoke Alarm Up To Scratch

Fires can spread rapidly (in less than five minutes) through your house, according to findings from a Fire & Rescue NSW report. Interesting also is that homeowners are encouraged to look at how many fire alarms in their house to cover all potenti...
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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...
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The D-Word: Time To Talk Depreciation

Sad fact: Many Australian rental property owners are failing to correctly calculate depreciation. “I have often seen clients who have owned investment properties for five, six or seven years and have never claimed any form of depreciation becaus...
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The Block's Depreciation Schedules And You

So, “investors could claim an average of over $2.2 million in depreciation deductions for each apartment on Channel 9’s 2016 season of The Block,” according to new analysis reported by The Urban Developer. By far the biggest potential deprec...
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10 Horrifying Traps a (Good) House Inspector Might Find

Number One: Asbestos. Enough said. Number Two: Termites. In a word: EVIL. Number Three: Fire hazards. Wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy. Number Four: Faulty smoke alarms. It’s a thing. Number Five: Ghosts. Okay, kidding. Okay, ma...
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Concrete stumps are not immune to decay under extreme conditions.

Many elevated properties sit on some type of stump support whether it be timber , steel , masonry or concrete . Whist most people would consider concrete stumps to be maintenance free , this is far from the truth . Recently one of our Building Inspe...
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Asbestos In The News

Think asbestos is old news – and not relevant in today’s society? Think again. Here’s one of many asbestos-related news stories. From the Western Advocate: WORK on Bathurst Tennis Centre’s new $800,000 clubhouse has come to a halt after...
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Jim's Building Inspections hits 100 Franchisees!

Jim's Building Inspections is pleased to announce that September 2017 saw its 100th Franchisee sign on to Jim's Building Inspections, officially launching the division as one of the biggest building inspection companies in Australia. Director Paul...
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Blacklists For Potential Tenants? You Betcha!

Yes. Blacklisting tenants is a thing and may not be talked about because of shame-related issues. According to the ABC, a person can be blacklisted without even being aware. His or her name in such a case will pop up on tenancy databases meanin...
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