Pre-Purchase Pest Inspections - Bendigo and Central Victoria

A pre-purchase pest inspection provides vital information on the property you’re intending to buy. When you’re making one of the biggest financial decisions in your life it’s important you get a comprehensive, trustworthy inspection so you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.

Fo Pest Bendigo have been carrying out pest inspections for over 25 years and have helped over 1000 customers through the stress of buying their house by providing detail and trustworthy inspection reports.

It provides information on whether the property has active timbers pests, where there is evidence of timber pest activity and whether there are any issues which may create a problem in the future. When you’re making one of the biggest financial decisions in your life, it’s important to get a much information as you can and you have a report you can trust.

Why do you need a Pre-Purchase Pest Inspection?

Did you know that the CSIRO estimates that 1 in 5 homes have a history of termite attack? So proceeding with a property purchase without having a quality, pest inspection is a very risky decision. Indeed a termite attack is more likely that suffering from a house fire, flood or other natural disaster combined. So as a homeowner it’s vital to be aware of the termite threat and have a plan to protect your home.

For the home buyer, it’s important to understand whether the property you are interested in has any timber pest activity, shows evidence of termite pest damage or whether there are issues or conducive conditions around the property that may make a termite attack more likely.

Information on the history and current status timber pest activity at the property you are interested in buying, provides important information that feeds into the purchase decision. Finding timber pest activity at a property isn’t necessarily a reason to pull out of the purchase, but it provides you with information to make an informed decision and potential useful information for price negotiations.

What is included in a Pre-Purchase Timber Pest Inspection?

The correct name for a pre-purchase pest inspection is a pre-purchase timber pest inspection, as it includes termites, borers and wood decay. All pre-purchase timbers inspection need to be carried out to Australian Standards AS 4349.3.

What is the inspection looking for?

Timber pest inspections are look for information in 5 key areas:

Active timber pests (termites, borers and wood decay)
Other evidence of timber pest activity
Timber pest damage
Evidence of previous treatments for timber pests
Construction issues or conducive conditions around the building that may make a timber pest attack more likely
- In particular areas of moisture and potential leaks behind walls

What areas of the property are inspected?

Main building

Internal rooms
Roof void
Sub-floor (if present)
Garage

Other elements on the property and within 30m of the main building:

Trees
Fencing
Landscaping timbers
Out buildings

A pre-purchase pest inspection is a VISUAL inspection!

It’s important to realise that a pre-purchase pest inspection is a VISUAL inspection. This means we are not allowed to move anything or probe any surfaces that may cause damage. Importantly if we cannot inspect areas or access rooms because of furniture or stored goods are blocking access, we cannot inspect those areas.

Any limitations will be noted in the report. But be aware, some sellers will block access to areas intentionally…

What equipment do we use?

Although the pre-purchase inspection is only a visual inspection, we do use various pieces of equipment during the inspection:

Donger – a tapping device to sound wood (the sound wood makes on tapping can indicate potential issues)
Moisture meter – a vital piece of equipment to check for areas of moisture and leaks behind walls
Termatrac – useful for detecting termite movement and other signs of activity, behind walls

What's included in the timber pest inspection report?

The pre-purchase timber pest inspection report will provide information on the 5 key areas:

Active timber pests (termites, borers and wood decay)
Other evidence of timber pest activity
Timber pest damage
Evidence of previous treatments for timber pests
Construction issues or conducive conditions around the building that may make a timber pest attack more likely

The report will provide photos to illustrate the key findings in the report.

Importantly it will make recommendations how to remedy any adverse findings.

It will always recommend that a termite management system should be installed at the property (if it is not in place), even if there are no active termites, as this is best practice.

Please note, as significant financial decisions are made based on the information in these inspection reports, there is also a fair amount of legal wording. This is a requirement of industry insurance companies.

A pre-inspection agreement is required

A pre-inspection agreement needs to be signed before we carry out an inspection. This is a standard insurance requirement.

It is important that you understand what is and isn’t included in a pre-purchase timber pest inspection and the limitations of the inspection.

Check for licenses and insurance!

Go Pest are fully licensed and insured to carry out all timber pest work, including pre-purchase timber pest inspections.

The insurance is particularly important as it protects both us as a company and you as a customer.

Why choose Go Pest for your pre-purchase pest inspection?

It’s important to know that the company carrying out your pest inspection is working for you (not the real estate agent). You need to make sure you are aware of any timber pest problems with the property your are interested in buying. Go Pest will not be rushed in our inspection and will take as long as required to complete a thorough inspection. The benefits of using Go Pest include:

Experienced, licensed and full insured termite inspectors
Use of Termatrac, termite detection equipment
Comprehensive 20+ page report with photos
Buyers can be present on site at the time of the inspection
Verbal report provide after the completion of the inspection

Go Pest Hotline: (03) 5448 3407