Many of you must have heard of the Sydney homeowner who bought a house only to discover more than $100,000 worth of pest damage. The buyer purchased the two-bedroom in Sydney's inner west for about $1 million, and had done a building and pest report before making the purchase.
A report which didn't warn him on the huge underlying damage. However, it was mentioned that the building inspector was unable to access parts of the property, but apparently didn't get the buyer's attention.
A second report, after purchase, found significant termite damage, as well as structural and border damage.
So, the question is: How to get the right building and pest inspection?

First of all, get the right people to do it for you

What makes building inspections services valuable and absolutely necessary is getting an independent opinion which is resulted from a dispassionately done inspections, by someone technical who doesn't care about the emotional side of the property. An experienced building inspector can save you thousands on building damage and/or bargaining house price.
Qualified building inspectors will also provide pre-sale property condition advice to a prospective home owner regarding the condition of the property at the date and time of inspection.

The inspection must be thorough

Building and pest inspection is a thorough property inspection which will identify any visual fault or defect prior to negotiating a price or bidding on a property, covering all the accessible parts of the property -listed below- for any minor or major damage, and the existence of pest and termite:

• Interior
• Roof void (roof spaces)
• Exterior
• Subfloor (underfloor space)
• Roof exterior
• Site of the property

Reports should cover all the areas and be accompanied with photos and possible recommendation. (Sample inspection reports)
Visually minor problems such as poor electrical wiring, mould or rusting that causes structural integrity to be compromised are big danger signals to professional inspectors.

Check the standard are met

There are Australian Standards which specify what's the minimum an inspection report should cover (varies depending on the type of inspection).
For example, a building and pest inspection should be carried out in accordance with AS4349. 1-2007 and AS4349.3;
Before decidingwhat inspections you should conduct before buying a property, you need to do your research to pick the right service provider that complies with industry regulations and ticks all the boxes.