11 High cost inspection traps you should know about before listing your home for sale

WelcomeStarr Partners Liverpool was first established in 1990. The previous owner commenced the business with himself and a receptionist. After over 15 years, of hard work and continual success, in 2005 he decided to part with the business.

In November 2005, Simon Perri, a local resident of Liverpool’s outer suburb Rossmore, and Michael O’Sullivan the current real estate director of Campbelltown Starr Partners, decided to join together in the purchase of Starr Partners Liverpool.

Between the two, they have in excess of 35 years real estate experience. Both partners decided to rebirth Starr Partners Liverpool. In doing so, they committed to some basic principals. They are, to provide the highest possible customer service to their clients, and achieve the best possible outcome for all. We believe Starr Partners Liverpool has now achieved that.

Today, we are a major force within the Liverpool area. We have seen great success for all of our clients, and regardless of the market conditions, have been able to achieve record sale prices. Over time Starr Partners has been able to amalgamate a further four offices together with their current office.

In early 2008, Starr Partners Liverpool’s success was recognised by the public, with less than 2 year of operation, Starr Partners was the recipient of the Small Business Award based on the performance and professionalism voted by their clients. The director Simon Perri goes forward to say “standing on the basic principals of providing high quality service and ensuring the best results for our clients, we will continue to do our utmost regardless, our main priority is that we ensure that our clients always come first”.

Starr Partners Liverpool stands for the highest quality service, with honour, respect and honesty in our daily dealings with all of our clients, associates, work colleges and members of the public.

This booklet is designed to assist you by offering advice and our professional service when purchasing or selling your property.

Starr Partners Liverpool endeavours to be recognised by the community which we serve as being caring, well respected and an efficient real estate agent within the Liverpool area.

We would be happy to assist you with your enquiries. Please phone our office on 9822 5999.

Simon PerriDirector & Licensee In Charge

Nothing beats the feeling you get when your home finally sells – it feels great !

On the other hand, nothing is as disappointing as losing a buyer when you thought your home was sold.

The single most common reason for a buyer to pull out of a sale is when they find some fault with the property.

This is what often happens . . .

The Buyer and the Seller finally reach agreement on price and terms for the sale of a property.

Next, the buyer applies for their mortgage and instructs their solicitor to carry out all the necessary searches.

The very first searches ordered by the Buyer’s solicitor is generally a pest inspection and a building inspection.

The object of the pest inspection is to detect the presence of insects and pests in the property. The most common pest located by

these inspections is a termite – sometimes lots of them.

The building inspection on the other hand is designed to assess the structural soundness of the building.

If either of these two inspections reveal a problem the buyer may well have reason to change their mind about the purchase – or to expect a substantial discount off the agreed price to accept the property in “as is” condition.

And that’s the purpose of this SPECIAL REPORT. In order to protect your ability to obtain a sale at the best possible price it is important to know what the most common inspections problems might be so you’ll know what to look for (and fix) before your home goes on the market.

Whatever you do be certain to obtain your own pest inspection and your own building inspection before putting your property on the market. Remember the old saying “forewarned is forearmed”.

11 High Cost Inspection Traps You Should Know About (Before Listing Your Home For Sale)

1.Up until recent years there was no requirement to line shower recesses with fibreglass or copper to prevent them leaking.

In fact, the tiling often went straight on over fibre-cement sheeting. Within no time the constant force of water in the shower recess combined with decaying grout inevitably produced leaks.

These leaks eventually seeped on to structural timbers under or around the shower recess and this is when owners often strike problems.

Homes built on a slab would often detect a shower leak when the carpet in the adjoining hallway became damp.

On the other hand a shower leak in a property built on bearers and joists may escape detection for years. As a result the timber bearers under the shower recess become sodden and subject to mould and decay – often leading to structural problems.

A shower leak may cost several hundred dollars to fix but an undetected leak can cost an unsuspecting owner a sale.

Take the time to closely inspect your bathroom (and the void under the bathroom if applicable) before putting your property on the market.

Our No. 1 Problem Leaky Bathrooms !

3. Too much gardenNext time you go out to weed the garden take a moment to look at your weep holes. Weep holes are the regularly spaced gaps

2. White Ants

in your brickwork generally located down at ground level.The purpose of weepholes is to allow constant circulation of air into the walls of your home (or, if you are built on piers, to allow circulation under the home). They also allow built up

Most people are surprised to learn how prevalent termite infestations can be.

At Starr Partners Liverpool we sell many homes every year and we estimate that one in every 8 homes that go on the market is affected in some way by an infestation of termites.

Property owners often declare that they had no idea their home was being damaged by termites. This is not such a surprise when you consider how termites operate.

Termites live underground making their nest under mounds of earth or under the natural soil level. They then burrow out from their nest to sources of food – often up to 50 metres from

the nest.

For a termite a gourmet meal consists of decaying or damp timber located under the ground. When damp timber is available above ground level termites will construct earthen tubes up the sides of piers or property walls to reach the desired meal. (These earthen tubes are the easiest way to detect termite activity)

When the termite locates a suitable piece of timber it will excavate the wood leaving a thin outside layer of the wood intact thus preventing detection by a cursory observer.

The best way to prevent termite infestation is by having your property professionally fumigated every year and by taking the time to inspect the foundation walls, brick piers and ant capping of your home on a regular basis.

4. Pool fencing

5.Unapproved structuresOver the years we’ve seen many people put their home on the market, find a buyer, negotiate a suitable sale price and then . . . lose the sale because they had forgotten to arrange council approval for the pergola or the patio.Take a moment now to think about your home. Are there any additions or alterations that may have required council approval but where approval was neglected at the time of

construction ?Don’t worry too much. So long as the addition or alteration was completed in a workmanlike fashion Council may well be prepared to issue an approval after inspecting the work. Having to pay a small application fee to Council for an unapproved structure is often better than losing a sale when the buyer finds out that some part of your home was originally built without Council permission.

dampness to escape wall cavities.Overzealous gardeners often make the unintended mistake of building their garden beds too high and therefore covering their weepholes.

Covered weep holes can, therefore, cause

severe problems such as rising damp and lead to conditions that can encourage termites, fungus and decay of structural timber.

Problems such as these are easy to eliminate – keep your eyes peeled when out in the garden and keep soil build up away from your weepholes.

6.Most building inspectors love checking out roofs.

Why ? Because they know most owners never bother to check their own roof and therefore rarely discover problems.

In many cases a cracked roof tile or ridge capping may result in a leak that becomes evident when ceiling plaster discolours.

On other occasions the cracked roof tile or ridge capping may not be serious enough (yet) to cause water penetration – but the building inspector will certainly warn a prospective buyer of such a possibility in the near future.You’re right ! The prospect of jumping on to your roof for a tiling inspection won’t excite many people but without it you may be exposing yourself to a future lost sale.

Cracked roof tiles and ridge capping

For a number of years State and Local Government regulations have required pools to have childproof fences installed to prevent backyard drowning.

Council building inspectors are sticklers for pool fencing being erected in strict accordance with the regulations. And the one thing they love to catch homeowners with is a pool gate that fails to “self-lock”.

All pool gates should be self-locking which means that after you open the gate and then

let go it should swing shut and lock properly without you forcing it shut.

In addition, pool-fencing regulations require fencing to be a minimum height and to be constructed of specific materials.

Have at look at your pool fencing. Is your gate self-locking ? Does the rest of your pool fence meet with local regulations ?

Now is the time to find out – before your home goes on the market. Simply visit your local council and they will provide you with a brochure outlining current pool fencing requirements.

8. Brick piers and Ant-cappingIf your home is built on bearers and joists (and is therefore raised off the ground) it’s a good idea to take 15 minutes to get under your home with a torch to inspect the current condition of your piers.Each pier is designed to support part of the weight of the frame. As such each pier should be standing straight and perfectly vertical and each should be in contact with the bearer it supports.

9. Gutters and Downpipes

7. Rotting timber

In addition, be sure that each pier has a sheet metal ant cap in place between the brick pier and the timber bearer,Now is also a good time to inspect the external surface of each brick pier for any evidence of earthen tubes built by termites.If you strike anything that appears out of place contact a builder for advice on your best course of action.

These days there’s very little exposed timber used in homes.In the past, window frames doorframes and eaves were all made of timber – today only doors and doorframes remain.If your home has timberwork exposed to the elements take a few minutes prior to listing your property to inspect all the exposed timber. Take

a screwdriver with you and tap the timber. The sound of your tapping and the evidence of your own eyes should alert you to the possibility of timber rot, decay or fungal rot.If you find any of your timberwork is damaged have it replaced immediately because in the case of rot the damage can travel to unaffected pieces of timber. In addition, rotting timber is like a magnet for termites.In any case, it’s far better that you find the damage than your prospective purchaser.

Before you list your home for sale take 10 minutes to walk around the outside of your home inspecting all of the guttering and downpipes.Look for evidence of rust or leakage’s at the joints.Next get out your trusty ladder and remove all the leaves and debris from all gutters.

After you’ve cleaned out the gutters it’s always best to test your roof drainage by directing your garden hose on to the roof so that the water flows down into your gutters and drainpipes.

Once you’ve run the water onto your roof for a couple of minutes get up and have a look at your gutters. Is the water running away as it should or is it ponding in places.

Ponding (in older gutters) can result in rust over time and a build up of soil, which can obstruct proper water flow.

10. Broken/damaged timber work in roof recessesSomewhere in your home there is a manhole leading to the roof recess. Take your trusty ladder and be prepared to get covered in dust because the next job requires you to check out the roof timbers.

Take a torch and check each of the pieces of timber that form the trusses and supporting beams located in your roof.Ensure each piece of timber is firmly anchored in place, that the nails or gang-nails are still

creating a solid grip between timbers and that there are no pieces that have split or become damaged over time.Depending on the size of your home this job might take up to 30 minutes but take your time and be certain to complete the job

thoroughly. Remember it’s better that you find a potential problem now, before your property goes on the market, than a potential purchaser find a problem after you’ve agreed on a sale price.

11. Inadequate / faulty plumbingA building inspector employed by a purchaser will check out all of your taps, toilets, sinks and pipes.

In the process he’ll be considering the water pressure available when you turn on the tap, the speed with which water drains from your sink and any unusual noises that emanate from your plumbing.

Take your time to closely observe what happens when you turn on each tap, when you flush each toilet and when you unplug

each sink. Does it look as it should or is something amiss ?

If you suspect your plumbing could do with attention now is the time to do something about it - well before buyers start their inspections.

Call in a licensed plumber and ask him to thoroughly pressure test each tap and pipe - your attention to detail will pay off handsomely when you finally come on the market.

And Finally. . .Over the last few years, the job of a building inspector has become increasingly more difficult.

Their clients, property purchasers, have taken to suing them if they miss any potential problem in a property they intend to buy.

Consequently, building inspectors have become particularly finicky when it comes to property inspections.

Their findings often sound exaggerated when in fact they are simply pointing out the “worst possible scenario”.

When they estimate the cost of a repair or a modification required at a property they invariably quote a price which protects them against all eventualities - a price that is often twice too much.

Faced with such a building report a buyer will often ask for a huge discount off the (already negotiated) sale price. A property seller will justifiably feel a certain degree of pressure to

accept the buyers discounted price based on the “horror” building report.

In such cases neither the building inspector nor the purchaser is at fault - this is simply the way of the world.

The best defence a property seller can mount is to ensure they are properly prepared when their home comes on the market - after all, if the building inspector finds no faults then the buyer cannot try and re-negotiate the sale price based on a poor building report.

The best advice we can give is . . .

1. Take the time to thoroughly check out your property before allowing a buyer to inspect - this SPECIAL REPORT provides the best possible framework for such an inspection.

2. Employ an agent who is an expert negotiator, someone with lots of experience with building reports, and someone who can achieve a great sale price irrespective of what might happen during the sale.

Contact Details 3/52-58 Memorial Ave Liverpool NSW 2170

Phone: (02) 9822 5999 Fax: (02) 9824 0582

Or by email info@starrpartnersliverpool.com.au

Visit our website www.starrpartnersliverpool.com.au

This Special Report was provided to you free of charge by Starr Partners Liverpool.If you would like to take the next step on your path towards buying a property simply call our offi ce, 7 days a week, on 9822 5999 and speak with a member of our sales team – they will be happy to answer all your questions.If you would like some further information regarding buying, selling or renting property, we produce a range of Special Reports on different subjects – simply call us on 9822 5999 to arrange to have a full list of available reports posted to you.If you liked what you read in this report we would very much appreciate it if you would mention our name to your friends, relatives, neighbours and co-workers – you can be certain we’ll look after them, their property and their future.

PLEASE NOTE : Recipients of this report are reminded that, although due care has been taken in the preparation of the within contained material, prospective property buyers and sellers are always best served by making their own independent inquiries before the sale or purchase of a property.

© M. O’Sullivan 2001