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Something we get asked all the time by owners getting ready to put their homes on the market is - "do I need to get a Building Inspection" and the best answer I can give, is that I would highly recommend it for several reasons.

Firstly let me say, there is no perfect house whether it is a hundred years old or brand spanking new. By getting a Building Inspection before you take your house to the market you have the opportunity to identify and to fix any issues that may be discovered. This is far better than having a buyer commission a report and their inspector finding things you had no idea were wrong, because at that point the buyer gains the power in terms of the ability to negotiate and you are on the back foot.

Just the other week I had an owner decide they weren't going to get a Building Report for a number of reasons and after three weeks of marketing I ended up with three offers with every one wanting a Building Report. The owners accepted one offer and the buyer's Building Inspection found three or four issues, which although not major, resulted in the buyer walking away. When the owners investigated further they did find some things that needed repair and they decided the best thing to do was to take the house off the market and do the work. That was probably the best idea but they lost three weeks of marketing, a week waiting for the Building Report and then several weeks of repairs, when it could have all been sorted before going to the market.

If you provide buyers with a report, even if there are issues that have been identified, it gives them peace of mind that you aren't hiding anything and that is usually enough to get them to make an offer. That's because it's not you telling them everything is ok, it is independent, qualified advice. Sure, they will probably get their own advice but at least it is a starting point and you are showing you are being up front about the issues.

The majority of Lenders and for most people that is the Banks, are now insisting on seeing Building Reports particularly for homes built in the late 1990's or early 2000's. Buildings built in this era have a higher representation when it comes to leaky buildings and the Banks have become much more risk-averse, so the more information you can provide them the better (or easier) it is. By the same token - the more buyers that offer, the more likelihood there is you will get a premium price - simply because of competition.

Our aim is to enable buyers to make unconditional (or in layman's terms cash) offers where the only thing you have to consider is the price, so the more information you can provide a buyer the higher the chance they will be able to make that unconditional offer.

Conclusion

In summary - Providing a Building Report is highly recommended.