Property Maintenance Inspections
Your home or investment property is probably one of the biggest financial investments you’ve ever made. To help protect your investment it is important to have regular property maintenance inspections, including an annual termite inspection to help ensure that your home or investment property is protected and properly maintained. With new homes it’s important to have a maintenance inspection before the end of the Defect Liability Period or warranty, to ensure you can get anything fixed that is considered the builders responsibility.
Why ASBIR?
For over 40 years, we have helped clients make decisions about their largest investment. More than inspectors, our team is made up of licensed builders and qualified building consultants with an extensive knowledge of the industry and what it takes to construct a property that will stand the test of time and offer you value.
As an independent party, property maintenance inspections conducted by our team provide you with unbiased, clear insights into the condition of your home or business. Combined with a report that is easy to follow, we guide you in the next steps by offering recommendations for repairs or proactive steps to prevent damage.
We provide you with the professional advice you need to make an informed decision with peace of mind when purchasing a commercial building.
WHY PROPERTY MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS ARE SO IMPORTANT
- Preventative maintenance means major problems and long term costs can be avoided.
- Early detection of problems means small issues don’t need to become big issues.
- Accidents and litigation due to a lack of maintenance on your property can be avoided.
- Risk of fire damage can be minimized by having maintenance checks for any fire hazards.
- Termites in timber structures can be detected and remedied early to avoid major damage and costly treatments.
A Maintenance Inspection is a “Health Check” for your property
Ironically, our homes are maintained far less frequently than our cars though your house costs several times more than your car. Sadly a home rarely receives a “health check”. Although your home isn’t a “living thing”, it is still very much like a “person”. It can get “sick” when systems break down, and it can become “temperamental” when there are hidden problems in need of repair.
Problems that occur in a home are often only addressed after something breaks down or after damage has occurred which forces you to make repairs. Most homeowners don’t consider the fact that, if problems are found early, the repairs will often be less expensive. If you turn a blind eye to problems it can lead to extensive repairs where the costs may cause a serious financial burden.
In a lots of cases, you will not know what is wrong until something breaks or someone is injured. And as with the human body, symptoms are usually the sign of a bigger problems. And if that symptom is not treated or rectified the symptoms may worsen and lead to bigger problems down the track.
You can have peace of mind knowing your home has had a “health check” and if it doesn’t get a clean bill of health that you at least know what the issues are and can make a maintenance plan so that any problems can be fixed early and not cause you unwanted surprises and costs in the long term.
WHAT OUR PROPERTY MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS INCLUDE
A Property Maintenance Inspection by All Suburbs Building Inspections and Reports provides you with a comprehensive visual inspection of your property, inside and out, top to bottom.
You receive a detailed independent report containing a summary of the inspectors findings as well as recommendations for rectification of any damage or other problems found. Your report will also contain relevant photos and will also give you an indication of the overall condition of your home. We will let you know if any maintenance items are considered urgent or non-urgent, or if there any safety hazards that require your immediate attention.
You are also most welcome to attend the property maintenance inspection of your home or investment property, to walk around with the inspector and ask any questions you may have. And if you can’t or do not wish to attend the inspection you are welcome to call to speak to the inspector after the maintenance inspection if completed to discuss the findings. Alternatively, you can request a follow-up call from the inspector or our office regarding the inspection and report findings in which we will explain any findings and what can be done to fix any problems found.
TYPES OF PROPERTY MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS OFFERED BY ASBIR
All new homes generally come with a statutory warranty period or Defect Liability Period, which depending on the type of property and contract can be either 6 or sometime 12 months from Practical Completion or Handover. Things like cracking of plaster cornice, or doors that do not close properly are just a few things that are quite common. You are entitled to have any defects that are considered the builders responsibility rectified. It is advisable to check your contract and with your builder to verify this and find out the expiry date so that you do not miss out on being able to provide a list of any defects to be rectified to your builder on time. Specific time frames for reporting defects apply and these are outlined by The Queensland Building and Construction Commission QBCC in their Rectification of Building Work Policy.
All homes and investment properties are prone to wear and tear due to general daily life or inclement weather conditions that can cause problems on both the short and long term. Damage and other problems detected early and rectified promptly can save you long term costly repairs. If you own an investment property an inspection of the vacated property can highlight any defects or problems which may have been concealed by furniture or other household items, or things that may have been missed during routine inspections by the rental agent. A maintenance inspection can cover both building defects and timber pest issues. We use the latest technology in building and pest inspections such as thermal imaging cameras and moisture meters.
During construction either a physical termite barrier or a chemical termite treatment are installed in all new homes. It is very important that you have a yearly Termite Inspection of your property to check that the termite barrier has not been breached. If you don’t have this inspection annually the Six (6) Structural Warranty may also be affected. With older homes it is imperative to have regular Timber Pest Inspections conducted in accordance with Australian Standards AS4349.3 to check for any termite infestation or damage.
All new homes should come with a 6 year structural warranty in which any structural issues like cracking and subsidence can be reported to the builder for rectification. Specific time frames for reporting defects apply and these are clearly outlined on the The Queensland Building and Construction Commission QBCC website, and in their Rectification of Building Work Policy.
