Buyer guide · 9 min read
Buying your first home in Australia? The building inspection is the one step that protects you from a very expensive mistake — but nobody tells you how to actually use it. Here is the exact checklist: what inspection to book, what to check on the day, how to read the report the inspector hands back, the defects that are dealbreakers vs the ones you negotiate, and how to turn it all into a price reduction before you sign.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 6 min read
Every Australian pre-purchase building inspection is meant to be done to AS4349.1. Most buyers have no idea what that standard actually requires — or what it leaves out.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
Your building inspection came back. There are issues. Now what? Here's how Australian buyers turn defect lists into defensible dollar amounts off the price.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 7 min read
Termites cause more property damage in Australia than fire, flood, and storms combined. If your inspection finds termite evidence, the cost question depends on five things.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
About 1 in 3 Australian homes built before 1990 contains asbestos somewhere. Your building inspection will flag visual indicators but can't confirm without lab testing. Here's what that actually means for buyers.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 9 min read
Your new-build is almost done. The builder wants you to sign off on Practical Completion. This is the most important inspection you'll commission as a new-build buyer — and the only chance to require builder rectification before final payment.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
If your building inspection report uses the phrase "evidence of rising damp," "efflorescence to lower courses," or "elevated moisture meter readings at floor level" — you're looking at a repair bill that can range from $4,000 to over $40,000. Here's how to tell which end of that range your property sits at.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 9 min read
The report just landed. There are red flags. Cooling-off ends in days. Here's exactly what to do — in what order — to turn an alarming inspection report into either a defensible price drop, a clean walk-away, or a confident proceed.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 7 min read
Your conveyancer told you to get "a building and pest inspection." Most buyers assume that's one document. It's actually two completely different inspections done to two different Australian Standards — and skipping the second one is the most expensive mistake AU buyers make.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 10 min read
You just signed the contract. The agent says the cooling-off period started today. Your building inspector is booked for Tuesday. Will the report come back in time? What happens if it's bad? Here's exactly what your rights are, state by state.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 11 min read
Every Victorian property sale comes with a Section 32 — a mandatory pre-contract vendor disclosure document. Most buyers receive it, skim it, and sign. Inside the 30-100 pages are the items that could give you legal grounds to rescind without penalty, regardless of cooling-off — IF you know what to look for.
Read the guide →For buyer's agents · 13 min read
You're doing 8–15 property due diligence assessments a week. Your time is the constraint. Here's the 2026 Australian buyer's agent tech stack that compresses property research from 4 hours to 45 minutes — categorised by what each tool does, what it costs, and where it actually moves the needle.
Read the guide →For buyer's agents · 9 min read
Your client uploads their building inspection PDF. Two minutes later they receive a polished defect-by-defect breakdown — with YOUR logo on it, YOUR accent colour, YOUR brand voice. Here's how white-label property reports work in 2026, what they cost, and where most agents get the setup wrong.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
About 70% of Australian homes built before 1970 contain lead paint somewhere. Your building inspection may flag suspicious paint, but can't confirm without lab testing. Most buyers don't test — and then renovate without knowing. Here's what the actual risk is, what testing costs, and when you should bother.
Read the guide →New build · 10 min read
You've identified defects in your new build during practical completion or the defects liability period. The builder is dragging their feet. The fix is a written rectification letter — done correctly, it triggers contractual obligations the builder can't ignore. Here's the structure that works, plus a full template you can copy.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 11 min read
You're buying an apartment, townhouse, or unit in Australia. Your conveyancer says you need a "strata report." In Victoria it's called an Owners Corporation certificate. In NSW it's a Section 184 certificate plus a strata records inspection. Most buyers skim it and miss the levy bombshell sitting on page 23. Here's exactly what's in one, what to look for, and where it falls short.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 9 min read
Your building inspector wrote "concrete cancer evident to balcony slab" and you stopped reading. It sounds catastrophic. Most of the time it isn't — but the cost difference between a cosmetic patch and a structural repair is roughly $3,000 vs $80,000. Here's how to tell which one you're looking at.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 9 min read
Your inspector flagged "mould evident to bathroom ceiling." You're wondering if it's a deal-breaker or a $300 fix. The honest answer: it depends entirely on the root cause behind it. Visible mould is a symptom — the real question is what's feeding it. Here's how to triage, what testing costs, and what remediation actually involves.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 10 min read
Auction contracts have no cooling-off period in any Australian state. The hammer falls, the contract is unconditional, and any defect you didn't discover beforehand is now yours to fund. Here's how to inspect properly when you might be bidding on 3-5 properties across a campaign, what vendor-prepared reports are worth, and how to read findings against a 48-hour decision clock.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 12 min read
You've saved the deposit. You think you're ready. Then the conveyancer mentions $1,600 in disbursements you hadn't budgeted for, the inspection comes in at $750, stamp duty is $14k higher than the calculator said, and the lender wants $1,295 for the valuation. Add it up and most Australian buyers spend $8,000-$15,000 BEYOND the deposit before they have the keys. Here's the full stack — every line item, what it actually costs in 2026 dollars, and which ones you can negotiate.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 9 min read
Perth building stock has problems East Coast inspectors rarely see — jarrah white ants instead of subterranean termites, sand-base reactive movement instead of clay, salt damage from coastal exposure, and Hardies sheeting that often pre-dates 1987 asbestos cutoffs. Plus WA has no statutory cooling-off — your only protection is the inspection clause you negotiate into the contract before signing. Here's the WA-specific playbook.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 11 min read
Your building inspection has come back with $34,000 of defects. You're in cooling-off. You have one shot at a written negotiation letter that either gets you the price reduction or gets you a clean exit. Most buyers send vague "can we knock something off" emails that get rejected. The vendors who say YES are the ones who received a specific, evidence-anchored letter quoting findings to inspector page numbers. Here's the structure that works, plus full sample letters for VIC, NSW, and QLD.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 7 min read
You just signed a contract. Cooling-off ends in 3 business days. You need a building inspection done, the report written, and time to read it — fast. Most metro AU inspectors can hit a 24-48 hour turnaround for an expedite fee. Some offer same-day. Here's realistic timing by city, by scenario, and what the expedite premiums actually cost.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
You've signed the contract. The agent says cooling-off started. You have 2-5 business days to commission an inspection, get the report, read it, and decide whether to rescind. Each state has its own window and its own practical constraints. Here's exactly how to fit the inspection into each state's cooling-off period — and what to do when the window is too tight.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
If you're buying a pre-1940 Melbourne terrace, your inspector almost certainly flagged rising damp. The cost depends massively on which Melbourne suburb — Brunswick double-brick terraces have different DPC retrofits than weatherboard Yarraville cottages. Here's realistic 2026 repair costs by Melbourne suburb cluster, plus when you can defer treatment vs when it must be rectified immediately.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
Buying a Victorian or Federation terrace in Sydney's inner suburbs? Your inspector almost certainly flagged rising damp — and in Sydney's sandstock-brick and sandstone stock the cost to fix swings from a $2,000 cosmetic patch to a $35,000 mechanical DPC retrofit. Here's realistic 2026 treatment costs by Sydney suburb cluster, plus how to turn the finding into a negotiation position.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
"Black mould" is the panic word in property buyer culture. The actual story: stachybotrys (the "toxic" black mould) is real but less common than media coverage suggests. Many dark mould patches are cladosporium or aspergillus — allergenic but not toxigenic, and DIY-cleanable. Here's how to tell the difference, when to test, and when to call a Category 3 remediation specialist.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
The PDF just landed. It's 85 pages. Cooling-off ends in 3 business days. Here's the exact sequence — what to read first, what to skip, what the jargon means, how to get cost estimates (the report won't include them), and how to turn the findings into a negotiation or a clean walk-away.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 7 min read
Your building report lists 14 defects and not a single dollar figure. That's not an oversight — AS4349.1 and the NSW Government's own guidance confirms standard reports are not required to include cost estimates. Here's why that rule exists, and your three options for getting the cost data you actually need to negotiate.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 6 min read
"Average condition" on an Australian building inspection report does NOT mean the property is safe to buy without negotiation — but it also doesn't mean it's a disaster. Here's what the rating actually means, how inspectors apply it, and what you should do next depending on which defects pushed the property into the "average" band.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 9 min read
Not all cracks are equal. A hairline crack in render costs $200 to patch. A stair-step crack through brickwork to the footing can mean $20,000–$60,000 in underpinning. Your inspector classified it — but the classification alone doesn't tell you which end of that range you're at. Here's how to read crack findings in an Australian building inspection report.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
Roof defects are the most common major finding in Australian building inspections — and the most misunderstood. "Roof requires attention" can mean $800 in ridge repointing or $35,000 in a full re-roof. Here's how to interpret what your inspector actually found, what it costs to fix, and how to structure a negotiation around it.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
Failed shower or bathroom waterproofing is one of the most common findings in Australian building inspections — and one of the most deceptive. The surface looks fine. The damage is in the wall and subfloor. Your inspector flagged it; here's what it actually means, what it costs to fix ($3,000–$18,000 depending on damage extent), and how to use it in negotiations.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
Electrical findings on an Australian building inspection report range from "no RCD protection — install one for $400" to "unsafe unprotected wiring requires licensed electrician immediately." Your inspector flagged something electrical. Here's what each type of finding actually means, what it costs to rectify, and whether it's a negotiation point, a safety risk, or just a maintenance item.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 9 min read
Your building inspection found a deck, bathroom, or extension with "no evidence of council permit" or "appears non-compliant." This is one of the six defect types with the strongest negotiation leverage in Australian property — but it's also one of the most complex. Here's what it legally means, what your liability exposure is as a buyer, and how to handle it.
Read the guide →Buyer guide · 8 min read
If your building inspection flags "stumps deteriorated," "subfloor movement," or "floors out of level," you're looking at restumping — a bill that runs from $2,000 for a few stumps to $40,000+ for a full reblock. Here's how to tell which end of that range you're at.
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