Traditionally, when an offer is made to purchase a property, the purchaser will submit an offer to the vendor with conditions. There are many combinations of conditions that may be applied to the contract, but generally, there will be a clause: subject to building inspection. This allows a professional builder to be engaged to inspect the building for issues. The normal pre-purchase inspection takes place, and a detailed report is created prior to the cooling-off period ending, allowing the purchaser to review any abnormalities with the home. A decision can then be made if the property is still within their best interests to proceed or negotiate the price to allow for repairs that are necessary to rectify the issues.

Why do we also recommend a pre-purchase Plumbing inspection?

Although the building inspection is a vital element in the purchasing process, we believe it is equally as important to engage a Plumber to attend to complete a pre-purchase plumbing inspection at the same time as the building inspection. The most important part of this process is the inspection of the underground sanitary and stormwater drainage systems. What you can’t see below the ground is an unknown.

It’s not uncommon for our team to attend to recently settled properties for blocked drainage issues. During our attendance to these properties, if the drainage issues are bad we will utilise the drain camera to determine the extent of the issues with the underground piping. In some instances, especially in older suburbs with old drains and in areas that are built within reactive clay soils, we have seen severely dislodged and/or root-bound sections of underground drainage piping needing repairs.

In one instance earlier this year, our team attended a recently settled rental property in Clapham. The drainage to this property was in such poor condition, the entire sanitary drainage needed to be upgraded. The new owners at Clapham did engage a building inspector to assess the property prior to the purchase and the building was in viable condition to proceed. Had they engaged the services of a licenced Plumber to camera inspect the drainage they would have been armed with much clearer knowledge of all of the underlying issues that can’t be seen from the surface.

There are many things we can assess on top of the drainage as a part of a pre-purchase plumbing inspection to help purchasers with their properties. We can assess reticulated cold water, hot water and gas consumer piping systems as well as the conditions of the bathroom, kitchen and laundry fixtures and appliances.

So, before you purchase your next home or rental property, take the time to do your research on the property and get a pre-purchase plumbing inspection.

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