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ELIM PROPERTY INSPECTIONS

Property Report

XXX Street

Alfredton

Prepared for

XXX

Richard Ford D.B.U. 11221

H.I.A. Member No. 531663

w w w. e l i m p r o p e r t y. c o m . a u

P. O . B o x 3 6 0 W B a l l a r a t V I C 3 3 5 0

M o b . 0 4 3 8 5 1 9 1 0 6 • Te l . 5 3 3 2 0 9 9 3

A . C . N . 0 9 4 3 1 8 4 4 8 • A . B . N . 5 4 1 6 8 9 6 4 3 4 0

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This Pre-Purchase Inspection Report has been prepared by Richard Ford

D.B.U. 11221 Registered Building Practitioners: HIA Member No 531663

CUSTOMER DETAILS

Name: XXXX

Address: XXXX Postcode:

Telephone: XXXX

PROPERTY DETAILS

Address: XXX Postcode:

Date of inspection: XXX

I M P O R T A N T I N F O R M A T I O N

This report is based on the condition of the property at the time of the inspection and the consultant having reasonable access to all areas.

This inspection report covers the visual aspects of the property. It does not cover any part of the building located beneath the ground surface, i.e. Sewer and storm water drains, footings etc.

The consultant can only make comment with regard to the general visible condition of the electrical wiring and/or plumbing. It is suggested a licensed tradesperson be contacted for a separate report where concerns are raised by the consultant.

The consultant is not a licensed pest controller. However, visual evidence of pest infestation will be reported, and risk factors, such as elevated moisture levels will be checked. Where necessary, the customer is advised to contact a member of the Pest and Weed Control Association for a full report, and for treatment as required.

This report may cover the identification of Asbestos and Asbestos related products if they are visible. The consultant recommends visiting http://www.asbestos.vic.gov.au No item of furniture or fixtures will be removed, moved or modified during the inspection, and items and conditions covered by such furnishings and fixtures are not assessed or considered. Should subsequent removal of fixtures and fittings reveal inconsistencies with the surrounding conditions, you should contact your consultant to discuss and re-inspect if necessary.

This report provides no guarantee or warranty and is reliant upon the professional opinion of the consultant named within. This report is prepared with due diligence and care, but the report is based upon prevailing conditions and accessibility.

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PRE-PURCHASE PROPERTY REPORT

Our pre-purchase property report should not be seen as an all-encompassing report dealing with a building from every aspect. Rather, it should be seen as a reasonable attempt to identify any significant defects visible at the time of the inspection. Whether or not a defect should be regarded as significant depends largely upon the age, and the type of building being inspected. In addition to the assessment of defects, the report will comment on a property’s strengths.

1a.The report may contain the following:

A statement of who requested the report and the purpose for which it was requested, or is intended.

The date or dates of inspection.

The scope of the inspection.

Any item or area that was not inspected and the reasons that prevented an inspection, and if appropriate, a recommendation for further investigation.

A summary which includes an opinion as to the overall condition of the residential dwelling in the context of its age, type, and the general expectations of similar properties.

A list of any significant matters which require attention or rectifying.

1b. The report may also include the inspection and assessment of the

following if required:

With vendor permission, detection and identification of illegal and unauthorised building work (local Council fees apply).

With vendor permission, detection and identification of illegal and unauthorised plumbing work (local body fees apply).

Durability of exposed finishes

Heritage concerns.

Security concerns.

Common property areas.

Environmental concerns including aspect, sunlight, privacy, streetscape, views and aesthetic considerations, spatial layout and architectural analysis.

Document analysis e.g. sewer drainage diagrams, strata plans and records and identification surveys.

Noise levels.

A reasonable estimate of the cost of rectifying any significant matters.

A list of minor faults or defects. A recommendation as to repairs and maintenance work needed to reduce or eliminate the risk of substantial damage with regard to:

i) Damp ii) Movement iii) Finishes iv) Services v) Damage by pests vi) Compliance vii) Hazards

Such other information which may affect the use and enjoyment of the residential dwelling.

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1c.The report assesses the condition of the following:

Each room internally – floors, walls, ceilings, windows, doors, built in cupboards/wardrobes

External – wall cladding, lintels, window flashings, paintwork, chimneys, balconies.

Roof exterior – general condition, roof flashing, skylights, vents, valleys, guttering, down pipes and eaves.

The roof space – roof framing, insulation, sarking, party walls.

The under floor space – bearers, joists, timber framing, piers/stumps, dampness, drainage, ventilation, cracked or leaking pipes.

The site – car accommodation, detached laundry, paths and driveway, steps, fencing, surface water drainage, storm water runoff.

2. Limitations and conditions

2.1. Limitations

The pre-purchase property report may not contain any assessment or opinion in

relation to:

Any item or area which was not, or could not be inspected by the consultant.

A matter which is not within the consultant’s expertise.

A matter, the inspection or assessment of which is solely regulated by statute.

2.2. Conditions

This Property Report may be conditional upon, or in relation to:

The assessment of any apparent defect including rising damp and leaks, the detection of which may be subject to prevailing weather conditions.

Information provided by the person, the employees or agents of the person requesting the report.

The specific areas or expertise of the consultant specified in the report.

Apparent concealment of possible defects.

Any other factor limiting the preparation of the report.

3.0. Definition of terms used to describe the condition of inspected items.

Excellent condition – the item inspected appears in as-new condition, with no visible defects, and/or has been finished to a very high standard.

Good condition - the item inspected appears in sound condition with very few, or else minor, visible defects.

Fair – the item inspected shows some visible defects, damage, or deterioration, normally as a result of its age and may require repairs or maintenance work.

Poor – the item inspected may be in a badly neglected state of repair, and/or has been finished to a un-tradesman like standard.

Functional – the item, fixture or appliance inspected is in working order, and may or may not have minor visible defects.

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INTRODUCTION

Thank you for asking me to inspect this property. There are some areas that will require maintenance and also suggestions that are highlighted in Red in the body of the report. The house was furnished at the time of inspection and it was not possible to gain access to the perimeter of the rooms or the interior of the cupboards.

A. INTERIOR

Entrance/hallway:

Front door: original door is North facing and requires draft proofing material and fitted with separate deadlock and latch set that function okay

Security Door: aluminium fly wire security door in good condition and the automatic closer requires some adjustment at the top in order for the catch to function which holds the door open when required

Floors: combination of tiles and carpet and appear original and some movement to the grout lines between tiles and skirting and I suggest this has sealant applied.

Walls: plasterboard appears in good condition with minimal defects

Ceiling: plasterboard ceilings fitted to metal batons onto the top of radiata pine timber trusses and minimal defects.

Skirting/trims: painted craft wood trims appear in good condition.

Doors: open plan to the rear.

Ventilation: cross flow ventilation to the rear

Lighting: down lights function okay

Electrical: no concerns seen. The house does have safety fuses installed and I suggest once empty you have all individual outlets checked by an electrician

Heating: open plan to the rear

Smoke detector: there is only one smoke detector installed adjacent to the rear Western bedroom. Typically there should be a smoke detector installed adjacent to the doorway to the master bedroom

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Main bedroom:

Floors: original carpet with small areas of tracking in the high traffic areas

Walls/ceiling and trims: appear in good condition

Door: in good condition

Windows: North facing aluminium wind out windows and function okay and the central section of window has some typical wear to the paintwork adjacent to the glass

Cupboards: walk in wardrobe appears in good condition

Ventilation: via the windows

Lighting: function okay

Electrical: as per comments above

Heating: ceiling heater vent

Ensuite:

Floors: the fittings and fixtures throughout appear to be original and tiled floors are finished to a good standard and no concerns seen

Walls/ceiling and trims: in good condition

Door: in good condition

Window: small condensation damage to the paintwork

Ventilation/lighting/heating: there is a four globe IXL style unit and two of the heat globes do not function

Cupboards/basin and Taps: all appears in tidy condition

Shower and Taps: appears in tidy condition and requires some additional sealant around the plug/outlet. There is no evidence of any leaking

Tiles: appear finished to a good standard

Toilet and Tap: dual flush functions okay and no concerns seen.

Photos showing the central waste to the shower which I suggest has sealant applied for safety and cleaning purposes and some minor condensation damage to the paintwork on the window

East facing/middle bedroom:

Floors/other surfaces: this room appears to be in good condition and no concerns seen.

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Second bedroom/office: Floors/walls/ceiling: appear in good condition

Skirting/trims: this room does have some moisture damage to the skirting on the Western side as per photos below. The tenant who lives in the house informed me that the side yard area floods during heavy rainfall and I will have some suggestions about that on the exterior section.

It is unusual for any moisture damage to be isolated such as this and this swelling may have come from some previous leaking in the bathroom.

Door: in good condition

Windows: West facing appear in good condition

Cupboards: hinged door wardrobe and one of the doors catches on the top edge

Ventilation: via the window

Lighting/electrical/heating: as per previous comments and ceiling heater vent

Photos show swelling to the skirting which is not currently damp.

Living room: Floors/other surfaces: appear in good condition

Ceiling: there has been some leaking and there is some movement and patchy paintwork to the front cornice as a result of the front veranda roof leaking. Apparently it does no longer leak into the room but does leak into the exterior veranda timber

Door: double doors and the right-hand door catches on the top edge

Photos show where door catches and previous damage and patchy paintwork to the front cornice

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Kitchen/rear living area:

Floors: tiles appear in good condition with one cracked tile adjacent to the pantry area

Walls/ceiling and trims: appear in good condition

Doors: three stage stacker aluminium sliding door functions okay and requires cleaning in the tracks

Windows: appear in good condition

Cupboards/drawers: appears original and in good condition and also repairs needed to 1 of the door hinges

Benches: Stone benches appear in good condition and one small chip visible near the front sink

Tiles/splash-back: glass splash back’s appear in good condition

Sink and taps: double bowl and left-hand sink has some what appears to be surface rusting

Cook top: appears in good condition

Oven: electric under bench appears in tidy condition

Dishwasher: no evidence of leaking seen

Ventilation/range-hood: functions okay and is ducted into the roof space

Lighting: one of the downlights does not function

Heating: ceiling vents and return vent for the central heater and I suggest it has a filter fitted

Other: there is a reverse cycle unit which I suggest is serviced.

Bathroom: Floors: tiles as per adjacent and appear in good condition

Walls/ceiling and trims: appear in good condition with evidence of a small amount of swelling at the bottom of the architrave and possibly caused from the shower having leaked at some stage in the past but not currently damp.

Door: in good condition

Window: West facing in good condition

Cupboards/basin and taps: repairs required under the vanity basin with to loose door hinges

Ventilation/lighting/heating: also four globe IXL style unit and all functions okay

Bath and Taps: appears in good condition

Shower and Taps: appears in good condition

Tiles: appear in good condition

Taps: no evidence of leaking and function okay

Photos show some old swelling near the door and repairs needed to door hinges.

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Laundry:

Floors: tiled floors appear in good condition

Walls/ceiling and trims: also in good condition

Internal door: in good condition

External door: East facing and some weather damage to the paintwork around the bottom edge and functions okay

Cupboards: all appear in good condition

Benches/splashback: appear in good condition

Laundry trough and taps: stainless steel insert style and no evidence of leaking

Ventilation: via the door

Lighting: functions okay

Space for washing machine/dryer: Yes

Toilet:

Toilet: dual flush functions okay with no evidence of leaking

Floors/other surfaces: all appears in tidy condition

Door: inward opening has lift off hinges.

Ventilation: via the window

Lighting: functions okay

Garages:

Walls: there is some movement to the Western side brick wall and this appears to be long-term. I suggest additional sealant is applied to the expansion join as per photos below and that the movement is monitored.

Ceiling: the Eastern side garage ceiling has dropped down above the roller door and repairs required

Main door: the Western side automatic roller door requires adjustment

Access door: Western side access door in poor condition and requires replacement.

Floor: evidence of water having flooded into the garage on the Western side from the rear yard area

Photos show the movement to the expansion join that requires additional sealant and the garage door entry on the Western side where there has been some water entering and bottom of that door is damaged

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Photos show the side yard area with the granite sand and garage door and adjacent downpipe. I suggest that the surface is graded away from the perimeter of the building and that a surface water catchment sump is installed and reasonable to assume that could be connected in to the current storm water discharge pipe to which the downpipe is connected.

Concrete slab:

Concrete slab: there do not appear to be any areas of concern seen in the internal inspection. The garages have what appears to be an infill concrete slab with the perimeter walls built on a strip foundation/footing. Both garages have some minor cracking to the concrete surface which would be considered quite typical and acceptable for a 10 year old house.

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Roof space:

Accessed via: the laundry ceiling

Roof framing: the house is a radiata pine timber truss construction supporting the concrete roofing tiles and structurally this appears to be in good condition and no concerns seen. Plasterboard ceilings are fitted onto metal batons onto the bottom of the trusses

Sarking/underside of roofing: underside of the concrete roofing tiles.

Insulation: there is a loose fill style product installed which has good loft and no concerns seen

Electrical wiring: the downlights have protective boxes/shrouds fitted and there were no concerns seen. One of the boxes over the rear lounge room is displaced.

Heating unit: three star ducted gas heating unit and the main heating discharge duct is loose from the ducting as per below and majority of the heat would be going into the roof cavity.

Pipe-work: no concerns seen

Debris: area appears tidy

Evidence of pest activity: there is minimal spider and no rodent activity seen. There is no evidence of any timber pest activity.

Ventilation: I suggest you have a spinning roof ventilator fitted at either end of the house to provide cross flow air.

Photos show heating vent and down light and the discharge vent from the range hood needs to be straightened out and connected up higher and then view of the style of construction and some minor leaf litter that has filtered in around the internal valleys and quite typical.

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Roof and Guttering:

Tiles: overall the roofing tiles appear to be in good condition but there is some movement on the external corner tiles and some repairs required as per photo below.

Roofing iron: the front metal veranda sections appear to be poorly designed and there has been some additional work carried out including cutting overflow slots in the guttering as per bottom left photo and some foam material has been installed along the edge of the corrugated iron. The pitch of the roof appears to be too flat for corrugated iron material and the discharge gutter as per top right photo requires cleaning. The tenant informed me that there is still leaking during heavy rain in the two years that they have been in the property. There is evidence of some damage to the varnish work from repeated leaking as viewed under the front veranda ceiling as per later photos

Flashings: as per comments above

Flues/vents: appear in good condition

Valleys and ridges: some minor and typical repairs as per comments above and photo below

Guttering: will require cleaning to the perimeter of the house.

Downpipes: appear in good condition and connected to discharge pipework.

Eaves: Timber front and rear ceiling areas and some displacement to the timber and some moisture damage and maintenance required

Facia Boards: colour bond metal product appears in good condition

Photos showing example of the tile that has moved and a common scenario and then views of the front metal roof veranda area as per comments above.

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Masonry/Rendered Walls/Foundations:

Bricks: overall the brickwork appears to be in good condition.

Cracking and movement: there is some movement as mentioned on the Western garage wall and also on the expansion join on the rear alfresco area as per photos below. These are both expansion joins and designed to allow for differential movement and movement is likely caused by the changing moisture levels in the soil. Neither of the areas of movement appear to be of any major structural concern but as mentioned I suggest additional flexible sealant is applied to prevent moisture from entering.

Dampness and drainage: as per previous comments in relation to the Western side drainage

Visible flashings:

Visible lintels: appear in good condition

Weep holes: I suggest you have pest filters installed in the weep holes at the bottom course of bricks.

Joint sealants: as per the comments above

Photos above show the movement on the rear lintel and also example of where the pine ceiling has buckled at the rear and requires refastening. Bottom photos are from the front of the house showing also some buckling and some moisture damage from flooding on the top roof area as per previous comments.

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Windows/Doors:

Windows: appear in good condition and no concerns seen

Doors: as per the internal comments and some maintenance required including draft proofing and adjustment on the right-hand garage door and replacement of the rear garage access door due to decay/moisture damage at the bottom edge.

Veranda/alfresco:

Structure: as per the previous comments. The structures are built under the roofline of the house and some maintenance required to the pine board ceilings.

Raised garden beds: there are two sections of garden bed which are adjacent to the brickwork and I suggest they are removed as it is not recommended to have a structure containing soil built above the ground-level against the bricks which are above internal floor level.

Decking: there is some typical wear to the surface coating on the timber decking and recoating required.

Photos above show the raised garden bed areas and the garden beds are quite distorted with twisted timber on the Eastern side. The Western corner as per right photo is built around the downpipe and reasonable to assume there would be some rusting under the soil level.

Hot water service and Plumbing:

The house has a gas instantaneous hot water service appears original and I suggest you have it serviced. It does have an electronic temperature control pad.

There is a rain harvester tank and pump installed on the Eastern side and this may have been an energy rating requirement. This unit may be connected to the toilet for flushing purposes but is not currently switched on and the adjacent water tap does not function. I suggest you have that unit checked by a suitably qualified plumber.

Central heating:

The unit in the roof space as mentioned which I suggest is serviced and requires some repairs to the ducting/connection.

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Reverse/Cycle Heating/Cooling:

As mentioned I suggest you have the reverse cycle unit serviced including the checking of the refrigerant levels in the compressor and cleaning of the header filters.

Electrical:

There are safety fuses installed and fuse board is located on the front veranda. I suggest you have a lock fitted to prevent the unit/power from being switched off from the exterior.

I suggest that once the house is empty that you have all electrical fittings checked by a licensed electrician to ensure that they are functioning safely.

Moisture Levels:

Note that the moisture meter used in this inspection does not record surface water; it records the moisture in the substrate as a percentage value.

There was evidence seen of some previous moisture damage but no current elevated moisture levels at the time of inspection

Pest Activity:

As per the comments above there was minimal evidence of rodent or spider activity in the building. There is quite a lot of perimeter spider activity in the shrubs/garden.

There was no evidence seen of any termite damaged timber and the main conducive condition would be the raised garden bed areas adjacent to the building. There was some decayed timber seen on the Eastern side but this appears to be a damp cubic rot style decay on some untreated pine blocks. If you wish to have a thermal imaging style inspection carried out then I suggest you contact David Ward from Ridpest Ballarat on 0414 567 977. He would also be able to carry out the treatment for the spiders.

I suggest you remove all old timber from around the house and the perimeter garden beds adjacent to the building to reduce risk factors.

I suggest that the drainage is improved on the Western side

I suggest you have some perimeter termite monitoring blocks installed and there is good information for do-it-yourself products available online at http://www.termitetrap.com.au

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Fencing:

There are side colour bond fences and rear timber fence and appear in good overall condition and much of the metal fencing is obscured by the perimeter trees

Paths/driveway:

The concrete area appears to be in good condition with some minor movement and no obvious trip hazards seen

Surface water drainage/runoff:

There are the concerns on the Western side of the property as mentioned and I suggest this is addressed as part of overall landscaping. It is important to try and discharge water away from the perimeter of the building.

I suggest that you have all storm water pipe work cleaned and checked with a camera cleaning device to ascertain that they are connected and functioning correctly.

D. GENERAL CONCLUSION

As per the body of the report above the house is in good overall condition and very clean and tidy with the current tenants. There appears to be minimal wear to the internal surfaces. There are some typical maintenance issues for a 10 year old house as mentioned in the body the report. I suggest you prioritise having the drainage on the Western side of the house attended to. I suggest you have all the gutters cleaned and see if any information is available from the leasing agent in relation to the maintenance has been carried out on the front metal roof. As mentioned it appears to be poorly designed and typically a roof on that low pitch would have a different style of roofing iron designed to shed water more efficiently. I wish you all the best moving forward with your purchase and please phone or email through if you have any questions.