Pre-Purchase Pest Inspection: Safeguard your Investment

The price of a pre purchase pest inspection is largely different by how long the inspection takes to complete (see below). Inspectors who are more experienced are likely to charge more… and it can be worth paying the extra as when you are making one of the biggest investment decisions in your life, you want to make sure you have the best possible inspection.

Prices typically start from $250 (exc. GST) but can often be in the $300-400 range for a standard 3-4 bedroom house on concrete slab, more for larger houses or houses with sub-floors.

The length of time is takes to carry out a pre purchase pest inspection depends on the size of the house and property (how many rooms in the house and how big the yard is) and the construction type of the house (does it have a sub-floor and roof void?).

For a standard 3-4 bedroom house on a concrete slab, it should take 1.5 – 2hrs. Taking longer (and therefore costing more) is a good thing – you want your inspector to be very thorough in their inspection.

Always ask how long the inspection will take as it will help gauge how thorough the pest inspector will be and will put the price they provide in context.

Also be aware that the real estate agent may want to try and hurry up the pest inspector – especially if there are potential issues – as the don’t really want them to be too thorough!

Remember when you are making a purchase of hundreds of thousands of dollars (and more!), you want a comprehensive inspection, not a quick or cheap inspection. Choose a pest manager you trust to complete a comprehensive pest inspection.

It is generally recommended not to use a pest control company recommended by the real estate agent as there may be a potential conflict of interest. Remember, the real estate agent want to make a quick sale and don’t really want any issues to be unearthed that may delay or halt the sale!

You will need to ask both the inspector and the real estate agent if you can attend, as it is someone else’s property. In most cases pest inspectors are happy for you attend, as they can physically show you any issues they find. However, be conscious that they need to work uninterrupted to avoid being distracted and to complete the inspection in the allotted time.

If the pest inspector finds something of concern it will be detailed in the inspection report along with recommended actions.

Don’t ask for the building inspector’s opinion, they are not meant to say anything that is not already included in the report – this is a legal / insurance thing, protecting both the inspector and the customer.

With the any issues raised in the report, you can discuss with your conveyancer about your next steps. It may be a question of asking the real estate agent, but if the issue is one of concern it can help  you decide whether you want to proceed with the purchase and if  you do, it provides useful information to potentially negotiate on the price. 

It is important to realise that a large number of properties in Australia will have some history of termite damage, so even if the pre-purchase pest inspection does not detect any live termite activity it is quite common for the inspection report to detail some level of termite damage in the building or on the property.

Whilst it can be concerning or disappointing that the potential property purchase may have some timber pest issues, finding the problem is actually a good thing! Information is power ­– it gives you two main routes forward:

• You can pull out of the purchase and feel good that you knew about the issue before committing to the purchase
• You can re-negotiate the sale price based on the findings of the inspection report

If you decide to look into the second option, of solving the issues uncovered in the pest and building inspection reports and re-negotiate the sale price, it will be necessary to fully understand the nature of the problem and quantify the costs to remedy the problems.

If there are active termites (or borers), you will need to get a quote to eliminate the active termites from the property. Don’t get the seller to do this! They will pay often pay for the quickest and cheapest solution to the problem. You need to make sure you get a professional termite treatment to ensure the termites are eliminated.

For properties with timber pest damage, it may well be necessary to get a more comprehensive and potentially invasive inspection to quantify the damage and get a builder to assess the necessary repair work and costs.

Of course if the property has either active termites or termite damage, installing a termite management systems is a must to prevent a future termite attack.

So should you buy a property with timber pest damage? It depends. But with the information obtained in the inspection reports you can assess the problem logically and if the issues can be solved to your satisfaction it may be possible to re-negotiate the purchase price and get a bargain!