Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI only 21Feb 03, 2010 7:51 pm checked out alex from urban ,called me back 10 mins after my msg . 10 pts for promptness now for the rest. he said he doesnt touch the tender document or what ever is in it. He said he can look at the dimensions of the house as well. I am doing a frame stage and final inspection . He also said he gives out the reports on the day,thats good. Let us know how he goes manafull ,then he gets my vote . He promised to send me the sample report ,nothing as yet . Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI only 22Feb 03, 2010 10:07 pm Hello Andy, Don't be too fuss about the turn-around time in terms of hours, please allow fair amount of time for Alex to follow up. I would allow at least a half of day or a day for him to address those major inquiries from me, because he may be very busy with his business, just like everyone else working through the day... So I guess you may get the sample report by the next day. You may remind him if the sample report doesn't turn up. However, if this is to turn out as empty promise and you are to continue in experiencing problem like this, then this is obvious not good and would be the sign of alert in doing business. So far, all my emails were replied in the timely fashion and I have no problem with that - my "performance indicator" to him is currently so far so good Yes I got the similar message that the tender list may not be under his radar, however, he said I could just simply ask him to help check these things on the PCI day, he would help out whatever questions I may have in the inspection - fair enough though. And on the PCI date, I suggest print out and bring in all the technical plans and documents in 2 sets of copies, one set for Alex to check through, and the other set for yourself to be handy. Remember to send him the software copy of these documents days before the inspection, in order for him to prepare, because each house is different. Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI only 24Feb 10, 2010 4:44 pm Hi all, I just had my pre-pour slab inspection with J@st 1nspections and have to say it was a waste of money. $400 for 10 minutes work. What did he do? Well he came, ask me for the plan which I sent to them last week, lucky I got one in the car, then he briefly looked at it and went around the waffle pad and said yep everything is fine, no measurement no nothing. He seem a bit rushy to leave, could be the rain or it was late in the day and he probably wants to go home. I told the company before going with them that I wanted the inspector to measure the formwork to see if its correct and square, that everything is done according to plan, and the setup of the formwork is good, they said yes he will do that. When I ask him he said he doesn't do measurements, so what's the point then. Anyway not using that company again. PS. Manafull was correct in that just because they are registered and qualified doesn't mean they are good as the inspector we had is a qualified inspector. Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI only 25Feb 14, 2010 12:17 am Hi Guys, I have engaged Alex from Urban to do a report on a possible purchase on Tuesday coming. I will let you know the outcome of this shortly thereafter. So far though I am impressed! Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 26Mar 13, 2010 12:02 am Folks, Sorry for the long delay, as I have just finished the PCI and received Alex's report the day before yesterday... Please see my email with feedback to his service below: <email> Hi Alex, We have reviewed your report. We feel that its content is solid, practical and easy to understand, because you have also communicated most of the points to us during the inspection. We have also updated Porter Davis of all the defect items, who promised us they would fix all these before the settlement (fingers crossed !!). Your service delivered the outstanding values below: - You were able to listen and respect your customer's thoughts - Your follow-up email reply was prompt - Your time management was impressive - Your care for details during the work was excellent - You were able to communicate & explain things clearly to us, before and during inspection - Your report was solid & money-worth We would definitely consider to engage your service again, if we have the chance to purchase the next property in Victoria. Over all, we would rate your service 4 out of 5. (as we would only rate your service 5 out of 5, if it was free of charge Best regards, Victor </email> While I'd like to recommend Urban Property Inspections here, I hope they would keep up their good work - well, I think they would need to continue to work hard & deliver value to their customers, as there are many competitors out there in the market. Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 27Mar 13, 2010 7:34 am fantastic! thats what we need. engaging a builder or tradie at the end of the day we are looking for peace of mind and the knowledge that they will deliver what we are expecting. Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 28Mar 18, 2010 2:07 pm I empathsize with Polo's experience of paying $400 for 10 min pre-pour slab inspection. I engage IPI for my slab & frame inspection, and I must say I felt such a fool to pay so much money for only a few min job. The slab inspection can be done after the frame is up (my inspector said it's the surveyor's job to check the formworks). The whole report is 1 page, no pictures. What an idiot I was, could have save the money for better use. Btw, IPI is a franchise so you get different inspectors for different locations. In hindsight, I find that as home builders we worry unnecessarily. Surveyors though engaged by builders do discharge their duties and responsibilities properly. Ultimately their signatures are on the form they signed. I didn't bother to call for any inspections at pre-plaster, fixing. Even at frame stage, I gave my inspector the frame layout (which shows location of minibraces, brackets) and the inspector conveniently ignored the frame layout as "that's the surveyor's job to cross check". All he made sure was whether the frame was plumb, within the threshold of Standard &Tolerances document. However I find getting independent inspection for PCI necessary. Afterall that's the advise a real estate agent friend gave me too. I did give Alex a call, but he forgot to call me back. I will give him a second chance since my PCI date is mid April. I read somewhere Big Kev service standard has dropped, hard to reach, report turnaround time long & unresponsive. Not sure about his good friend Darren Love though. Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 29Mar 18, 2010 8:28 pm your comments are interesting rocket leaves ! when we hire independant inspectors the question is how qualified are they ? and do they know everything that needs to be known about all the building stages ,so as to pick any faults with a slab for instance . like you mentioned are they better suited at PCI. In saying all this I have decided to get 2 inpections done by Alex ,he suggested 3 ,but I have decided to go with frame stage and pre handover and leave out lock up. You mentioned frame layout report are builders obliged to hand that over to the owner if requested ? Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 30Mar 18, 2010 9:49 pm How about the below accreditation? "I am a registered builder – Unlimited - # BD-U XXXXX, have been for over 25 years Member of the Housing Industry Association - # XXXXX, have been for over 25 tears Independent Property Inspections franchise territory owner, have been for 4 years I am fully accredited & insured as per Victorian requirements" $400 in 10 min not a bad deal, or at best 20min. I should go TAFE and take up Building course, also make sure I "advertise" myself on this website too LOL. Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 31Mar 18, 2010 9:50 pm oh forgot about the part of frame layout, yes you can request it from your builder. Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 32Mar 20, 2010 8:24 am I agree ,being in the financial sector myself their are those who engage in ponzi schemes and then their are the genuine . If you are planning on living in the home for less than 7 years ,yes the builders warranty gives that peace of mind . We want this product to last us well past that without any structural problems,in my case I wont be building again. Nothing is water tight when it comes to building ,in my case I picked carlisle homes I know a couple of people who built through them,then their is the element of trust as you mentioned and fingers crossed lol !! Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 33Mar 20, 2010 4:09 pm Don't get me wrong Andy, my inspector is certainly qualified as I did a check on the supplied credentials. What most owners get mixed up, like what I did initally is failure to realise the below: "I need to reiterate that the inspections I do are regarding workmanship, not construction integrity….that is the responsibility of the relevant building surveyor as named on the building permit. And I have no power to tell the builder to rectify anything unless it is a defect according to the Standards & Tolerances Guide, which are not normally detected until toward the end of the construction & completion. The inspections at stages are to try & prevent the potential defects before they arise." I have the engineering pod design report, frame layout and like all owners, I pored over every single detail, get really meticulous. I got my friends who taught in Building & Carpentry/TAFE, or work in the engineering department at John Holland to have a look at my build after $400 lighter in wallet on a 10 min job. I am vocal to raise it up with my inspector too. Then I realised owners need to be more relax, probably those who build are mainly immigrants. Most locals will choose not to build if possible. They are not willing to relocate to another "country"/far flung corriders (north, western suburbs in Victoria) as they grew up in those familiar suburbs unless they are 2nd generation offsprings already living in the north, west. Having said this, good luck to your build. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and in a few weeks time handover! Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 34Mar 20, 2010 4:35 pm Rocketleaves - I know how you feel, I too felt very disappointed with my inspector. At least now I know and can warn my friends and others if they are considering them for inspections. Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 35Oct 11, 2016 11:27 am Are there any recent recommendations out there for a good inspector to get for a PCI / final inspection? I've just noticed most of the comments are back in 2010 and would like to get recommendations for one as we will have ours in the next month. Many thanks! Home ownership: noun l a state when one has never been in so much debt Re: Seeking New Home Inspection Service in Melbourne - PCI o 36Oct 23, 2016 1:46 am Hi Patpf I used David Seville 40years+ build experience He's been a SS and has various roles as builder and has now been an inspector for years. He has been huge assistance to me. Recommended by a friend's husband who works as a SS for another company as he is thorough!! 0488 993 332 Sevilleinspect@bigpond.com Good luck! Does anyone have a suggestion for a good hydronic in slab heating speacialist who may be able to help me with an existing system and wether or not it may need a seperator… 0 3431 My home office is hot with computer equipment running virtually 18 hours a day. When it gets unbearably warm I simply step out of my door into the living area which is… 0 3502 Hi everyone! This is my first time posting here, and I'm looking for some advice regarding my house construction project in North Kellyville. I… 0 4421 |