When buying a new home, it is important to get inspections done before making an offer, so that you are completely informed about what you are getting.  A common inspection is the pre purchase inspection but often this does not provide you with enough information, which is when you will need to get a special purpose property report as well.  Here’s what you need to know.

About Special Purpose Property Reports

A special purpose property report is a type of building inspection that is done.  It is most commonly carried out when you are buying a strata property that has common areas, such as driveways, common walls, stairwells, and so on.  Common strata properties include unit blocks and townhouses.  It is important to get this done over and above a standard pre purchase inspection as the standard pre purchase inspection will only inspect the interior and immediate exterior of the strata property that you are looking at. It will not identify any problems in the common areas, and issues with the common areas have to be paid for by all owners (not too bad if it’s just a new paint job but it can be very expensive if your new unit’s block needs a new roof and you didn’t know beforehand!).

However, special purpose property reports are also done if you want your building inspector to provide you with an estimate of the costs involved in repairing any problems found within the standard pre purchase inspection report.

What do Special Purpose Property Reports Cover?

Special purpose property reports cover all the same things that a pre purchase building inspection does.  That is, the inspector will look at the overall condition of the interior and exterior of the building, the interior and exterior of the roof area, underfloor areas, and the building site as a whole.

Special purpose property reports will also cover other things though such as estimating how much it will cost to fix any problems that are found during the inspection, minor issues either inside or outside the building that you should be aware of, and recommendations on what repairs and maintenance needs to be done to the property.

Who Does Special Purpose Property Reports?

The special purpose property report should always be done by a qualified building inspector who is willing to abide by all of the relevant Australian Standards.  They should provide you with a detailed report on the condition of the property, covering all areas that you have asked them to do.  Your inspector should be fully qualified, licensed, and insured.  Ideally, they will also be a member of an association.  Also make sure that you ask your inspector for a quote before they begin any work and also ask how long it will take them to do the inspection and provide you with the report.  If possible, they should provide you with a sample report so you can see the sorts of things that they cover.