Buying a house - advice needed

[fridayman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fridayman]

We are first time buyers here in Australia. We're currently renting a relatively new Queenslander (about 7 or 8 years old) and the opportunity to buy it has come up, which we are very excited about as we love living here. We are aware however that all the work on the house has not been done to the highest standard, so would like an expert on these type of houses to do an inspection and advise us on what we are likely to spend money on in the future. Can anyone advise on who we should be talking to?

[SWR Banned Find all posts View Profile Close SWR]

Gday fridayman

#1 I "HIGHLY" advise on an independent building surveyors inspection.

# You will find out if you are or your neighbor is breaching boundary lines.

# You will find out if any house Reno's of any sort complies with building reg's & is approved by your local council.

# You will find out if neighbour is running there storm water onto your property. (Can be bad for building foundation!)

#2 Pest inspection... This one is a must as that pesky white ant can consume a whole house in 9months and most whit ants have there sub nest outside the house. Usually a dead tree trunk near by... If you was to have a queen ant in the house (Not the most common) they would stop at nothing to get that queen out if barrier sprayed after discovering there presence.

Black and brown ants are your friend as they would send the whole colony to attack white ant if white ant was a threat to there own nest!

2015 CONSUMER GUIDE - AS.3660 Protection of Buildings from White-Ants
http://www.termite.com.au/white-ants.html

#3 All debt tracking history of seller etc is normal procedure of your solicitor.

Do not get a cheap bogy surveyor or pest guy... Make sure they are independent (fully certified) not from real estate or friend of friend.... This is your life investment.

[JoshF Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoshF]

I believe in QLD you want to do all those inspections before you sign anything as they are no longer terms on which you can void a contract, but I can't guarantee this so get advice

[SWR Banned Find all posts View Profile Close SWR]

I believe in QLD you want to do all those inspections before you sign anything as they are no longer terms on which you can void a contract, but I can't guarantee this so get advice

Cooling-off period for residential property contracts

[tempestv8 Member Find all posts View Profile Close tempestv8]

Be sure that in the terms of the sale of contract, you include a clause that says something like "subject to satisfactory pestilience inspection report"
Check also to see if the house is in a flood zone - if yes,then don't pay a premium for it.

[RobCrick Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RobCrick]

G'day fridayman,

If you need any help with finance let me know. I work for the Victorian equivalent of St George Bank (Bank of Melbourne here). Happy to assist with either finance or insurance questions.

Congratulations as well!! Buying a home is a fabulous life event! (Second only to buying a Prado...)
😀

[macaroon1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close macaroon1]

As well as the above I'd get a Valuation done too. However I think in many instances your mortgage provider will ask for one anyway which is why a number of contracts fall through these days....bank will not just give you the money for it. Ask for the longest settlement period not this 14 day nonsense!

Never pay premium price unless it's truly a one off. Many people who bought @08/09 are still behind now as they paid silly money only for the market to spin backwards for many years....it's still trying to catch up.

I hate poor finishes too...the DIY bodgers....lots out there??

Truly a life event can't be too careful..