Independant Builders Inspectors Recommendations in Victoria

Hi everyone,

Now, I am very naive when it comes to building a home. I have bought land and now planning to build on it soon. However, I have heard that people usually had problems dealing with builders. Now, I to be honest have no idea about building. I am literally zero in this. I am willing to pay a private inspector for all the stages. However, the problem with the private inspector is that they would prepare a report for me and would not directly deal with the builder. Now if I just forward the report to the builder, there would be things which they would not fix at all. As I do not understand much about building what do you expect me to do? I mean I ideally want a home inspector to chase with the builder rather than me going after them as I do not have much knowledge. Is there any private home inspector who could do this or I would be forced to contact the builder myself regarding the defects. I am just worried that even if the report contains a lot of defects and the builder fails to address them *because they are not legally oblieged too) then what was the use of spending so much on the private inspectors.

I read a sample report from the most recommended private inspector and the defects they pointed out was not understood by me. How can I convince the builder to correct defects if I don't understand the report myself?

Please help me

You also need a pre-contract signing consultation with an experienced and well qualified building professional who knows what to look for in the plans and contract. This is also when you can ask the questions on issues you need to know.

A good building consultant who does stage inspections will refer to the relevant Standards/plans/NCC requirements when listing faults/non compliance/substandard work that needs rectification.

Most building issues are the result of either poor or non existant QC. Very few project builders have a proper QC schedule. Don't expect your SS to be monitoring the build quality, his job is to organise the works schedule and he could have 20 or more other constructions under his 'care'. No SS would have the regulatory or industry knowledge encompassing all of the trades involved or the time to monitor those trades.

Thank you for your reply. My main concern is that as I would not understand inspectors report I will just forward it to my builder. Would he rectify those issues or can just ignore it?

Any issues should be explained to you either verbally or by way of reference.

The 3 part National Construction Code (NCC) can be downloaded free of charge.

The builder cannot ignore something that is not compliant or deviates from the contract provided they are notified early on. The report may be prepared by your agent but it comes from you when it is given to the builder.

If you have a good building consultant, the builder will be more mindful of their legal obligations as opposed to a construction that is not subject to stage inspections or interest by the owners. The cause of many of the post handover issues discussed on this forum are immediately obvious by the forum's relevant professionals. Many of the issues are inexcusable.

Thank you so for being naive here. What if the builder says these issues are rectified and they actually aren’t?
What to do then? Because I am not qualified or knowledgeable enough to see if the issues are rectified.
I would again have to hire private inspector for re- inspection just to see if the issues are rectified?

Sorry I don’t know what’s happening here . I meant to say thank you so much. Sorry for being naive here

yuzeee2 The builder can legally ignore your consultant's inspection report if they choose to. However, they are legally obliged to build your home compliant to the Construction Code and Australian Standards so its in their interest to read it. They are obliged to comply to a state tribunal order to fix defects if the tribunal agrees with the consultants defect report.

Going to the tribunal can be a time consuming, expensive, and risky process so many customers just give in and accept defective work to avoid delays during the build. Builders know this so they will ignore inspection reports if they think they can BS customers and get away with it. Your building consultant should explain this situation to you before they accept your job. You can launch a claim to rectify the defects later however. Make sure you follow the disputes process in your contract exactly if you think you might do this later.

At the bottom right of your posts you will see three dots. Clicking on them will bring up an options list which includes an edit function.

The questions you ask should be discussed with the building consultant.

You have to be very careful who you hire in Victoria because anyone can call themself a building consultant and fill their contract with disclaimers.

Some Melbourne building consultants are advertisers on Homeone and some of those freely give advice on the forums. I suggest checking such persons first and having a look at their websites and advice given on the forum. A true industry professional realises that unusual problems that pop up on Homeone threads often add to their knowledge base, a sound incentive for their active participation.

You can also do a forum keyword search to read about the experience/recommendation of other new home owners.

No matter who you hire, ask for their qualifications and experience. The good ones will be proud to show you, others may act offended.

Your construction should have a risk evaluation (an experienced assessment, not an actual report) noted and discussed by the building consultant. Some constructions need special attention depending on the soil report, slope etc. There isn't much value in contracting the services of a cheap but under qualified person who for example doesn't pay particular attention to site drainage on highly reactive soil.

I am thinking of going through Jim inspection- have you heard of then

Based on reading his contributions here, I would suggest you consider building-expert who is active on this forum.

I have a personal revulsion towards Jims anything because of the way their plumbing franchises operate (do a keyword search on the Whirlpool Home sub forum for examples). There was however a Jim's building consultant who use to help Homeone members with their queries and he came over as being credible. Can't remember what State he was in though.

Invest in a few hours to do a forum keyword search using terms like stage inspection, problems, report, recommend etc. Just make sure that you read Victorian posts.

Also be aware that building consultants who do stage inspections are often erroneously called building inspectors by those outside the industry. A building inspectors works with the building surveyor (who the home owner appoints in Victoria) and often does most of the building surveyor's work but their role is limited to the construction's structural integrity.

Private building inspection is an insurance worth about 3k (all stages) which may or may not pay off. You're right in saying that your build might completely ignore the report and move on and there's nothing you can do about it. The only advantage of a staged inspection that I see is if you have to raise a dispute later on, you've some paperwork already to prove the defects were reported but not actioned.
I know many on this forum would disagree but a Staged Inspections does not guarantee a quality build. If the builder is shifty you would get an end product that's worth them. My advice would be do some research before investing in a builder even if it means you lose out on 1-2K of initial deposit, don't commit to a builder unless you know you're going to a get a good product.
As with building inspection companies check ProductReview you'll find a few good ones there. If you're on a tight budget, plan out the stages where you would have an inspection done. All stage inspection is not everyone’s cup of tea.

If any building consultant indicates, or suggests to you, that by engaging their private inspection services that you are "guaranteed a quality build" then I suggest avoiding them. Some prominent building consultants represent this in their marketing and sales spiels, which is incorrect and deceptive. Identifying, documenting and notifying defects are key process steps then its between you and your builder as to how these issues are managed. The consultant's role is limited to just preparing the defect reports for you. Be careful interpreting product review. Most 5 star 'verified' reviews of building industry companies there are not genuine.

Thank you everyone for your support. Would you recommend Debrecca or David Seville building inspector?

Yes.

IMO Darbecca pricing appears very expensive for the standard inspection services they deliver. I suggest requesting a few comparative quotes and sample reports from alternative consultants for comparisons. Satisfy yourself that their premium pricing is worth it. Be aware that Darbecca will not engage with the builder on your behalf regarding any identified defects. They will provide you with theIr written report and you will need to discuss this with the builder yourself.

Some of the Darbecca marketing messaging appear to be based on fuelling confrontation with builders, instilling fear of these builders amongst naive new homebuyers, and denigrating competing consultants. An approach which I feel is misleading and inappropriate.

Exactly. I would then probably go over with other inspectors who can offer cheap reinspection as my main concern is not only to find defects but make sure they are addressed as well

If you accompany the inspector on his visit and ask questions you could learn about any defects he identified and how they are rectified, then you can make the follow up inspections yourself, or ask the SS to take some photos that confirm.

Speak of the Devil...a new thread about Jim's Plumbing started yesterday on Whirlpool forums.

https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/3vy0vvx9

Sorry for reply. got it. I am not hiring them at all