Frequently asked questions

From $400 for a standard single-storey home. The final price depends on size, storeys, age and access. Stage inspections on a new build are quoted per stage, and booking multiple stages together reduces the per-stage price.

Most Tarneit inspections are booked within one to three business days. Tell us your auction or settlement date when you request a quote and we will work to it.

Yes. Victorian law entitles you to have your own consultant inspect work you are paying for, and most builders working in Wyndham accommodate this as a matter of routine. We contact the site supervisor and arrange a time that suits the program.

Frame, closely followed by slab. Those two cover the structural work that is permanently concealed afterwards. If you inspect only once, inspect at frame.

Some early movement is expected, especially on reactive clay. The Guide to Standards and Tolerances sets measurable limits by crack width and category, and the assessment turns on width, location, pattern and site drainage rather than on the age of the house.

Yes. Townhouses are common through the newer Tarneit estates and are inspected on the same basis as a detached house, with the added attention that shared walls, common drainage and boundary structures require.

A photographed, numbered defect schedule with each item classified, an assessment against the relevant standard, recommended action, and a plain-English summary at the front for anyone who is not going to read all of it.

Yes. We inspect across Truganina, Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Point Cook, Manor Lakes, Wyndham Vale, Williams Landing and the rest of the Wyndham corridor.

Yes. Under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic) you are entitled to have your own consultant inspect work you are paying for. Most Wyndham-area builders handle this routinely — we contact the site supervisor, agree a time and work around the trades.

If budget is tight, book slab and frame. Those two cover the structural work that is permanently hidden afterwards. Owners who want full cover book all five, which is the most common choice on a first home.

Within 24 hours of the inspection, and usually the same evening. Timing matters because progress payments and the next trade are both waiting on it.

Before. Bring our report to the walkthrough. Going in with a numbered defect list changes the conversation entirely.

Each item is photographed and referenced against the relevant standard or the Victorian Guide to Standards and Tolerances, so the discussion is about the evidence, not opinions.

Yes. A re-inspection checks the listed items have actually been rectified and is quoted at a reduced rate because the scope is already defined.

Often yes. Victoria’s structural warranty runs six years from completion. An inspection in year five identifies items you can still claim on rather than pay for.

Typically 90 minutes to two hours for a standard Tarneit family home, longer for a larger or double-storey property.

You are welcome to, and it helps. You can also call the inspector afterwards to walk through anything in the report.

We book Tarneit inspections within one to three business days and can usually work to an auction deadline. Tell us the date when you request the quote.

We inspect what is safely accessible and state plainly in the report what could not be reached and why. Nothing is quietly omitted.

No. A pre-purchase report covers building condition only. Add the timber pest assessment if you want termite risk covered as well.

Sometimes it is. The Guide to Standards and Tolerances sets measurable limits by crack width and category. An investigation measures against that standard rather than accepting or rejecting the claim.

The report is written to be usable in a dispute. If the matter proceeds formally, it can be extended into an expert witness report.

In Victoria, domestic building work carries a ten-year limitation for building actions, with structural warranty obligations running six years from completion. Get advice early rather than late.

Whoever wants the protection. A developer or builder often commissions them for adjoining properties, but as the neighbouring owner you can commission your own and control the evidence.

Before any work starts, including site clearing. A report taken after work has begun has far less value.

Yes, and it is quoted at a reduced rate because the scope and comparison points are already established.

Usually in the final week before settlement, once the developer issues an access window. Book as soon as you have the date, because those windows are short.

That depends entirely on your contract, and it is a question for your conveyancer. What the inspection gives you is the documented list that any such conversation depends on.

Yes, where you supply the schedule of finishes. Send it through before the inspection.

That is your call and your agent will have a view. Many sellers do, because it removes doubt. Others use it privately to decide what to fix first.

Knowing does not create the defect. It gives you the option to fix, disclose or price it, rather than being told about it mid-negotiation.

Four to six weeks before listing, which leaves time to get anything worth fixing actually fixed.

Less than in parts of Queensland or northern New South Wales, but they are present in Victoria and the risk depends far more on the individual property than the postcode.

No. We inspect and report only, and never quote treatment. That separation is what keeps the finding trustworthy.

Annually is the general recommendation, and more often if a previous inspection found conducive conditions you have not yet corrected.

Not necessarily, but it helps. If you have representation, we take instructions on scope from them so the report answers the questions actually in issue.

Often yes. If we carried out the original inspection, extending it into an expert witness report is faster and cheaper than starting again.

Where required and instructed, yes.

Yes. You are entitled to obtain independent evidence, and insurers routinely reconsider when presented with it.

We provide the report and can clarify our findings in writing. Negotiating the claim itself is a matter for you or a claims advocate.

Quickly, and it matters. Document the damage before any make-safe or repair work alters the evidence.

Annually for most homes. Booking one in year five of a new build is particularly worthwhile, while structural warranty claims are still open.

Yes. It gives you a dated condition record independent of routine agent inspections, which is useful for both tax and tenancy purposes.

No. We never quote or carry out repair work.

Our inspection is a building moisture investigation. Where laboratory analysis is warranted we will say so, because that is a different specialty.

You can, and it will come back unless the moisture source is dealt with. That source is what the inspection is for.

It can be, where it results from defective work such as a failed waterproofing membrane or an exhaust discharging into the roof space. The report addresses cause, which is what a claim turns on.

Where it is safe and the pitch and access allow. Otherwise we inspect from a ladder and with a drone, and say so in the report.

We report condition and defects and can give an indicative view on remaining service life, but not a guarantee.

A standard building inspection covers the roof as part of the whole property. A dedicated roof inspection goes considerably deeper on that one element.

It is easier if we did, because we hold the original photographs and item numbering. We can work from another inspector’s report, but the comparison is less precise.

Less than the original inspection, because the scope is already set. We quote it against your item list.

The updated schedule records exactly which, with dated photographs. That is the document that matters if the matter escalates.

Yes, including the surrounding hardstand and loading areas, which is often where the expensive problems are.

Yes, for either party, at lease commencement or expiry.

On the agreed scope and the size of the building, quoted before we attend.