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 moreBuilding? Here Are Mark Campbell's Lessons Learned
“My rationale for building new was threefold,” writes Mark Campbell, a working-class Aussie. “Firstly, it enabled me to have control over the end product and it made sense from an investment perspective because I could maximise depreciation and...
Read moreSave $1000s With a Depreciation Schedule
Investment properties are a great way to secure your financial future. As an informed investor you’ll want to take advantage of all of the tax benefits that are available to residential property investors. Who wants to pay more tax than they need t...
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 moreEXPLAINED – Owner Builder Warranty Inspections & S137B of the Victoria Building Act 1993
You're an owner builder and it is time to sell your home. The last thing you want is for your hard work to be a hindrance to potential purchasers who have reservations about quality or compliance, just because the works weren't part of a major domest...
Read moreHouse Inspections Take Time
Okay, random question: How long would you spend inspecting a house before buying it?
In Australia, more than half of homeowners (58%) spend less than an hour inspecting before the big buy, according to research put out by ME bank. Thus, it’s not...
Read moreDepreciation - A Most Valuable Deduction
Looking to claim? For property owners, depreciation is the gift that keeps on giving and another reason to talk with the professionals at Jim’s Building Inspections. To wit, investors deduct the amount of income-producing assets in decline over the...
Read moreMouldy Issues For Landlords
A growing number of tenants are trying to educate landlords about the many ways in which mould can make us sick. So the ABC’s AM political reporter, Alexandra Beech, took the time to speak to one such person, Caleb Rudd.
Mr Rudd is behind a Face...
Read moreConcrete stumps are not immune to decay under extreme conditions.
Many elevated properties sit on some type of stump support whether it be timber , steel , masonry or concrete . Whist most people would consider concrete stumps to be maintenance free , this is far from the truth .
Recently one of our Building Inspe...
Read moreTo Buy Or Not To Buy (Off The Plan)
To buy or not to buy (off the plan) is an important issue for an increasing number of new homebuyers and property investors.
When done responsibly with professional guidance (offered by Jim’s Building Inspections, for example) it can be a positi...
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