Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Oct 04, 2011 8:06 pm Hi, I was wondering if anybody had had issues with Building Inspectors in Reports in Sydney ? I'm selling a property and recently got told by the purchaser who did a building inspection that the report said there was loads of damage/issues. She then made a low ball offer (funny enough). That surprised me given what she said the report had (she would not share the report of course). I contacted the inspector who pretty much completely stonewalled me saying he would tell me nothing. I said I didn't want a freebie, but would be happy to pay for the report if he confirmed that he found issues. I told him I don't expect you to tell me everything, maybe just have the grace to confirm that the buyers advice that there was $100k plus in damage was on the money. Eg, I was happy to buy the report but not on the basis of a buyer telling me stories. Either way we had knocked back their offer, so it was irrelevant. Just a nice to know. All in all he was pretty rude and ungracious and I was quite surprised at his attitude, particularly as I only wanted to confirm or deny that he found issues etc, not ask for the report for free. I cannot afford the very high fee they charge for it compared to other inspectors I have contacted. Has anybody had issues such as this? My builder mate suggested often inspectors or the like (not these guys) will be in cahoots with the buyer and the buyer can capatlise on a bad building report. I am not saying they did that. I was so surprised he would not at least say, "yeah matae there were a few issues, it is worth buying the report and we can do a duplicate for ... i told him he had told the agent that it was OK and he said i tell them anything... has anybody had such issues and if so could you share with me who? I am selling as money is tight, however do not want to keep getting building reports for the sake of it. I would also like to ensure potential buyers are wary of who to deal with given the experience here. GP Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 2Oct 04, 2011 8:30 pm I'm with you... I don't see why the building inspector couldn't just confirm/deny any faults and then offer you a copy of the report for a fee. But then again, the inspector was 'engaged' by the prospective buyer so maybe it is considered 'unethical' to share the results with anyone other than those who engaged him. But if so, he could have been nice about it and just explained that - being rude does make it sound all the more suss. So, can't really help with the inspection side of it, but as for the buyer, maybe just don't even respond to their offer unless they are prepared to back up their claims and low offer by showing you the report. IF their concerns (and the faults) are genuine, there should be no reason why they wouldn't want to show you the report to back it up. All sounds a bit suss to me and i wouldn't go near the offer on principle - unless you are so desperate to sell that you need to take the first/any offer. Good luck. HHCIB Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 3Oct 04, 2011 8:38 pm Thanks HHCIB, agreed re sus. I would not consider the offer and not deserate, but that is a good idea, I might say we will consider their offer based on showing the report. Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 5Oct 04, 2011 9:48 pm Agreed thanks for your thoughts. I reckon it was BS, however given I was pretty descriptive to the dude it is dissppointing if it was BS he would still happily send me off to pay for their report. I guess they need every $ they can get. Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 6Oct 06, 2011 6:46 am You could tell the potential buyer that you are not accepting her offer, but that you will consider buying the report from her. A rational person with a real report would either make a higher offer or sell the report to you to recover some money. A scammer will act offended and use that as a cover for why you can't see the report, even if you pay. Metricon Riva 33 - http://herlihy-riva.blogspot.com Site start 15/03/2010 - Handover 23/12/2010 9 months and 8 days (284 calendar days) from site start to handover Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 7Oct 06, 2011 7:55 am No buying of reports please! If the potential buyer wants to show you the report then you can consider its contents. If not, tell them to go away. There are another 22 million potential buyers in Australia alone. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 8Oct 06, 2011 8:25 am paying for the report is ridiculous seriously, if the buyer is really interested in buying he/she would disclosed what is in the report to the seller and haggle for a better price. as a buyer there should be nothing to hide. Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 9Oct 06, 2011 11:10 am I agree, d o d g y to say the least. You do not need to buy anything. We sold a house that had a few issues. The buyer gave our agent the report and we were able to come to an agreement that we would fix these issues before the purchase went through. Simple. Wipe your hands of them and the inspector Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 10Oct 06, 2011 1:31 pm The person who initiates the report is the owner of the report and can do as they wish (sell, burn or other) The company doing the report is not obligated to tell or give you details of the report (should not be rude though) If I was in your shoes I would employ an independent inspector to give you a report to keep. Then if you have any future prospects you can show them the report if that issue arrises. At least you will know what is wrong, or not wrong, and deal with it accordingly. By at least having a report ready you can avoid delays in waiting for the buyers report all the time. I also would not use any inspector reccomended from a real estate agent, as there are a lot of kick back deals and scams going on there as well. Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 12Oct 06, 2011 1:42 pm Rizzo I agree. If the buyer had nothing to hide and was serious about the offer, then why not ? It's just that some people think, OK, I paid big $$ for that report, I have made up my mind I don't want the house, but I am not going to give the report away for nothing. That's just the way some people think. Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 13Oct 07, 2011 7:30 am eyspy If I was in your shoes I would employ an independent inspector to give you a report to keep. Then if you have any future prospects you can show them the report if that issue arrises. How does the buyer know the report really is independent? If I was buying a house I wouldn't trust a report commissioned by the owner and shown to me. How do I know they didn't shop around 3 inspectors and show me the report which missed most of the problems? This is the same problem as the OP but in reverse. By the way I'm not really suggesting buying the report with my earlier comment - it's just a method to prove that the report doesn't exist. Metricon Riva 33 - http://herlihy-riva.blogspot.com Site start 15/03/2010 - Handover 23/12/2010 9 months and 8 days (284 calendar days) from site start to handover Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 14Oct 07, 2011 8:53 am btherl How does the buyer know the report really is independent? If I was buying a house I wouldn't trust a report commissioned by the owner and shown to me. How do I know they didn't shop around 3 inspectors and show me the report which missed most of the problems? They won't know, but for most people at least they can see something about the house, then if they feel unsure about it they still have the right to get one done on their own. At least the report will give you as the owner a report on your own house which you can act upon before selling, and something which to compare a buyers report with and work out whether THEIR report is suss ! Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors? 15Oct 07, 2011 9:39 am I have to agree with all the comment above - good stuff. One thing seems consistant though is that it seems very suss that the buyer would not share the report with you. Put it this way, if the buyer was serious about your property, they should be happy to show you a report and point out exactly WHY they are requesting a reduction in buying price. Given what I have read, personally, I would run a mile from this potential transaction - it reeks... Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them. That is a really good attitude Akin to you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. I do enjoy watching that tik tok inspector from Victoria but he does go a little… 12 81968 If you are in Victoria you have a statutory right to your own building inspector regardless of builder's consent. No negotiations are required. However the builder will… 1 2997 |