New homes & Termite zones
An increasing number of councils across Australia are seeing the value in designating residential zones as termite prone areas in an effort to help local communities avoid costly repairs and horror surprises in the future.
Victoria is the only Aus...
Read moreHow To Avoid Renovation Traps
Renovations done right can pay off. Literally. That said there are some serious traps to avoid.
Potential problems from wiring to asbestos issues often come up especially in older houses, so it’s important to seek professional help. Jim’s Buil...
Read moreWHAT’S THE MOST COMMON BUILDING INSPECTIONS SIGNIFICANT DEFECT?
Over the past two years, the most common Significant defect found, is the damp shower. Modern showers are aesthetically pleasing and appear to be installed to the highest standard. However, countless showers have been found this year to have damp cor...
Read moreThe Pitfalls Of Property Investment
The pitfalls of property investment are many.
Andrew Heaton from Sourceable advances the argument that it’s important to get a quality survey. While a retail store is often happy to return a $10 item of clothing, it’s far more complex with rea...
Read moreIs Your Smoke Alarm Up To Scratch
Fires can spread rapidly (in less than five minutes) through your house, according to findings from a Fire & Rescue NSW report. Interesting also is that homeowners are encouraged to look at how many fire alarms in their house to cover all potenti...
Read moreBuilding Inspectors Break Secrets
Building inspectors break secrets. It’s their job to do so and we wouldn’t have it any other way. They’re in one very real sense property detectives.
It’s fraudulent for a vendor to knowingly conceal defects according to the law. This incl...
Read moreThree Simple Ways To Fight Mould
Some things are out of our control. Others are in our control. Thus, when speaking about mould, there are many things we can do.
One: Root causes. Find them. A good place to start: Jim’s Building Inspections. When mould is found by experts it’...
Read moreAsbestos-Caused Cancer Trends Up
Asbestos-caused cancers are trending up, according to recent data from 2017.
The grim facts from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare:
710 Australians were diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2016 – a cancer caused by exposure to asbesto...
Read moreWhat is Caveat Emptor?
Increasingly property buyers are aware of their responsibility to discover building defects before sale – this is known as the Latin principle Caveat Emptor or ‘buyer beware’.
The full quotation is ‘caveat emptor, qui ignorare no...
Read moreDo you think that property you are looking to buy has asbestos?
If the house you are looking to buy was built or renovated before 1990, it is likely that it will contain some form of asbestos-containing materials.
Did you know that approximately one-third of homes built in Australia contain asbestos products?
...
Read more