Nightingale Property Inspections Terms & Conditions
(Last updated 7th July 2020)
To ensure you are fully informed of the inspection procedure, the terms of service and the report inclusions and exclusions please read all the information provided here before proceeding.
1. Our work in accordance with the Australian Standards:
1.1 Nightingale Property Inspections guarantees that each property inspection is carried out in strict accordance with Australian Standards for Building and Termite Inspections. This ensures that the most diligent and professional inspection is completed and that you receive a quality inspection report.
1.2 These inspections will be carried out in compliance with:
- AS 4349.0-2007 (Inspection of buildings – General requirements)
- AS4349.1-2007 (Inspection of buildings Pre-purchase inspections – Residential buildings)
- AS 4349.3-2010 (Inspection of Buildings – Timber pest inspections)
- For strata units or properties, the inspection will be in compliance with Appendix B of AS4349.1-2007.
Carrying out our inspections under the guidelines of these Standards means that our work is fully insured. That’s peace of mind for all parties.
A copy of the appropriate Standards with Appendices may be obtained from SAI Global at your cost: https://infostore.saiglobal.com
2. Payment of our services and delivery of your report(s) to you and your agent(s):
You (the client) agree to pay the total fee stated in your quote or invoice, as per the payment terms below:
2.1 Our terms of payment and delivery of reports are:
- Pre-Purchase Building Inspections, Pre-Purchase Timber Pest Inspections, Annual Timber Pest Inspections, Special Purpose Reports: our services are to be paid for on or before the day after your scheduled inspection. We will issue you with an invoice once your inspection appointment is booked, and this can be paid anytime from issue. Reports will be made available by 6pm the day after your inspection is completed unless another timeframe is agreed to by us, and provided payment has been made.
- Final Inspections: Our services are to be paid for on or before the day of your scheduled inspection. We will issue you with an invoice once your inspection appointment is booked, and this can be paid anytime from issue. Your report will be made available the same day as your inspection unless another timeframe is agreed to by us, and provided payment has been made.
- Tax Depreciation Schedules: payment is due on or before delivery of your completed schedule. We will issue you with an invoice once your site survey has been booked and this can be paid anytime from issue. Schedules are ready within 2 weeks of having all the information we need from you and after completing the site survey and are available to download provided payment has been made.
2.2 Payment is accepted by all credit cards and by direct bank transfer – all details are provided on your invoice.
2.3 Please note credit card payments may attract a 1.75% card merchant processing surcharge.
2.4 Pre-purchase building and timber pest inspection reports will also be forwarded to the listing / buying real estate agent(s) (these are generally the agent(s) you’re dealing with for the property) on completion of the report(s). Real estate offices representing a Vendor or a Buyer require a copy of the report(s) for their records, and this is also so they can assist you in understanding the process for negotiation on report findings if required. If you do not want us to follow this process please inform us prior to the completion of your inspections.
2.5 If you require us to forward a copy of your report(s) for any of our inspection services to any of your other acting agents (settlement agent, solicitor, finance advisor, bank, builder) we are happy to do so, simply let us know their contact details including email address.
3. Cancellation of Inspections:
3.1 Building inspections are usually urgent and time-sensitive work – to meet property settlement or property management deadlines. A late-cancelled appointment cannot usually be back-filled by us as our clients will have nearly always booked elsewhere if we originally couldn’t fit them in. This means we miss out on valuable business if an appointment is cancelled without some notice.
3.2 If cancellation is made of the scheduled inspection prior to the inspection start time, including cancellations made by you, by the property owner, by the property occupier, or by any acting agent on behalf of you or the property owner/occupier the following policy applies:
- Cancellations made up to 48 hours prior to the scheduled inspection start time will not incur any fees. A full refund will be issued if payment has already been made, minus any credit card fees incurred at the time of payment.
- Cancellations made between 48 hours and 24 hours prior to the scheduled inspection start time will be charged a 15% cancellation fee of the total quoted fee.
- Cancellations made within 24 hours of the scheduled inspection start time will be charged a 50% cancellation fee of the total quoted fee.
- The invoice for a cancellation fee will be made available at the time of cancellation with payment due within 7 days.
- The above cancellation fees will be waived if you re-book our services on the same or a different property within 30 days.
3.3 If cancellation is made after the scheduled inspection start time, at any stage before or after report(s) being made available, including cancellations made by you, by the property owner, by the property occupier, or by any acting agent on behalf of you or the property owner/occupier the following policy applies:
- A 100% cancellation fee will be charged (full amount is still due, as per your quote or invoice).
- This fee is not waived on re-booking our services.
3.4 A refund of fees, either in full or in portion, is not possible for any areas of the property that cannot be reasonably inspected at the time of the scheduled inspection. See more on ‘Limitations and Reasonable Access’ in section 5 below.
4. Our Inspectors:
4.1 Nightingale Property Inspections will arrange for an accredited and fully insured building and/or timber pest inspector to attend the property, complete the inspection(s) ordered by you and prepare the report(s).
4.2 We invite you to contact us via the email address or phone number shown on the front page of the report(s) once you have read your report(s) so that we can answer any questions you have or further clarify any areas of the report(s) that you still don’t understand.
4.3 The inspector can only advise on items within their area of expertise, in the report(s) and verbally. Any unexplained areas you agree to research yourself prior to making any further decisions about the property.
5. Limitations and Reasonable Access Explained:
5.1 All inspections will be a non-invasive visual inspection and will be limited to those areas and sections of the property to which Reasonable Access (defined in point 5.6 below) is both available and permitted on the date and time of Inspection. We will advise you of any areas we were unable to inspect if Reasonable Access was not possible at the time of the inspection or without using invasive inspection methods, and we will advise you to seek permission from the current property owner to carry out additional inspections of these areas with their permission and/or using invasive options and/or removal of obstructions where necessary.
5.2 The inspection WILL NOT involve any invasive inspection including cutting, removing locks, breaking apart, dismantling, removing or moving objects including, but not limited to, roofing, wall and ceiling sheeting, ducting, foliage, mouldings, debris, roof insulation, sarking, sisalation, floor or wall coverings, sidings, fixtures, floors, pavers, furnishings, appliances or personal possessions.
5.3 We DO NOT & WILL NOT inspect inside of locked rooms / cupboards where keys are not provided by the current property owner at the time of the inspection, inside of walls, between floors, under fixed floor coverings, inside flat roofing, inside any eave areas, behind any stored goods in cupboards, behind heavy furnishings and other areas that are obstructed during our inspection.
5.4 When a property is occupied you understand that furnishings and other belongings may conceal evidence of other issues which can only be discovered if and when these items are moved or removed and or after the property has been vacated, and therefore may not be observed by the inspector at the time of the inspection.
5.5 Deliberate concealment of defects, damage or safety hazards can occur at any time by the occupants, owners or agents of a property, resulting in these items not being observed at the time of the inspection.
5.6 The extent of accessible areas shall be determined by the inspector at the time of inspection, based on the conditions encountered at the time of inspection. If the inspector deems any space to be inaccessible or unsafe at the time of the inspection, or the access to any space is blocked or obstructed, or the access to a space does not meet the minimum requirements below, then the inspector cannot guarantee that all issues/defects/damage/maintenance/hazards that may be present in that space will be identified during an inspection.
5.7 Safe and sufficient access to a space is set out within the Australian Standards for building inspections (AS4349.1-2007) as per below:
- Roof Space – must have an access panel (manhole) of at least 400x500mm and a crawl space of at least 600x600mm. This space must be accessible from a 3.6m high ladder off a level platform.
- Roof Exterior – must be accessible from a 3.6m high ladder off a level platform.
- Sub-floor space – must have an access panel of at least 400x500mm and a crawl space of at least 500x500mm.
5.8 Our inspector shall maintain his/her personal safety at all times and will not access any areas where personal safety may be compromised. Personal safety is the responsibility of and is determined by the inspector at the time of the inspection.
5.9 Before we inspect inside the roof space during a residential property inspection (when accessible) we will switch OFF the mains power to the building, as required by law in Western Australia (for more information see THIS LINK). The power must remain switched off while our inspector is inside the roof. To ensure our inspector’s safety he will be responsible for switching the power off and then on again. The switching cannot be performed by another person present during the inspection. If permission is not granted by the homeowner to switch power OFF during the roof inspection then we will not perform an inspection inside the roof as we will be breaking the law.
5.10 Insulation in the roof void may conceal the ceiling timbers and make an inspection of the area unsafe.
5.11 If sub-floor areas appear to have been recently sprayed with any chemical treatments (pest or weed management or other) these areas will not be inspected unless it is safe.
5.12 Further limitations to our inspections and areas that we report on are: any stored or scattered goods, stored boxes, parked cars, bikes, boats, trailers, A/C units and their ducting and any external covering foliage, plants, vines, stored firewood and timbers, vines clinging to external wall surfaces, trees covering areas, unrestrained pets, or inclement weather.
5.13 A refund of fees, either in full or in portion, is not possible for any areas of the property that cannot be reasonably inspected at the time of the scheduled inspection.
6. Changes to the condition of a property after the inspection:
6.1 Our reports will include observations made by our inspector at the time of the inspection, and Nightingale Property Inspections will not be held responsible for any defects, damage or safety hazards that were not present or observed during the time of the inspection.
6.2 The condition of a property may change, deteriorate or improve at any time following the completion of our observations at the time of the inspection. These changes can be the result of many reasons including but not limited to:
- Weathering.
- Wear and tear.
- Ingress of moisture or water.
- Plumbing and electrical system failures.
- Movement of termites and other timber pests into or out of the building or grounds (also see point 6.3 below).
- Movement of personal items, furniture and vehicles.
- Weather events such as rain, wind, drought and storms.
- Changes to the property carried out by other parties such as landscaping or gardening work, repairs or additions by builders and tradespeople, painting, sanding or carpentry.
6.3 A note on timber pests: termites and other timber pests have been shown to move into and damage a building within as little time as several weeks, where there was previously no timber pest activity. Nightingale Property Inspections cannot be held responsible for any timber pest activity or damage as a result of timber pests that were not observed or were not visible at the time of the inspection.
6.4 Deliberate damage or removal of concealment may occur at any time by the occupants, owners or agents of a property, resulting in a change to the condition of the property after the completion of an inspection.
7. Cautions On Common Property Features:
7.1 Moisture on lined structures caution:
When moisture is detected on lined and framed walls, floors or ceilings there may be damage to the frame behind the lining that is not visible to the inspector at the time of the inspection. If the client has further concerns where moisture has been detected on lined and framed walls, floors or ceilings an invasive inspection is recommended to determine the condition of the frame.
7.2 Shower recesses caution:
Tests may be made on shower recesses to detect leaks (if water is connected). The tests may not reveal leaks or show incorrect waterproofing if silicone liquid or masonry sealant has been applied prior to the inspection. Such application is a temporary waterproofing measure and may last for some months before breaking down. The tests on shower recesses are limited to running water within the recesses and visually checking for leaks. As showers are only checked for a short period of time, prolonged use may reveal leaks that were not detected at the time of inspection. If there is no evidence of a current leak during an inspection that does not necessarily mean that the shower does not leak.
7.3 Glass caution:
Glazing in older buildings (built before 1978) may not necessarily comply with current glass safety standards AS1288. We will not normally comment on the age of glass during an inspection. In the interests of safety, glass panes in doors and windows especially in trafficable areas should be replaced with safety glass or have shatterproof film installed unless they already comply with the current standards.
7.4 Stairs, ramps and balustrades caution:
Specifications have been laid down by the (Australian) National Construction Code Section 3.9 covering stairs, ramps, landings and balustrades to ensure the safety of all occupants and visitors in a building. Many balustrades and stairs built in older homes may not comply with the current standard and may be considered a safety hazard. You can read more about this HERE.
7.5 Older buildings caution:
Older homes, especially homes more than 40 years old often present numerous defects, of a structural, non-structural or timber pest nature, that inspector will not have reasonable access to for observation at the time of the inspection. This can be due to crawl spaces being too small and dangerous for the inspector to access under floor or inside roof spaces, or other hazards such as unstable or broken structures, broken asbestos, dangerous pest infestations (eg redback spiders).
8. Strata Properties and Units:
8.1 Where a Strata Title property is to be inspected, then we will only inspect the strata units interior and the units immediate exterior to be inspected as detailed in Appendix B in AS4349.1-2007. A full Strata Report should be obtained for all of the common areas before you make an informed decision to purchase the Unit.
9. Additional Areas Requiring Inspection:
9.1 The Inspector will contact you during the inspection should the property present further areas that may require inspection but were not described during the booking of our services. The Inspector will then complete inspections of these additional areas at your discretion and on you agreeing to any additional costs/fees that will be incurred by you.
9.2 If the Inspector cannot contact you during the inspection then these areas shall not be inspected. Further inspections of the areas at a later time/date can be arranged at an additional fee. Examples of these areas include: sheds, garages, granny flats, chalets, workshops, attic conversions, machinery sheds.
10. Additional Inspections Requiring Specialist Services
10.1 If requested by you, we may arrange additional specialist inspection services on your behalf (eg. plumbing inspection, electrical inspection). These inspections will be carried out by a qualified/licensed and insured service provider, either at the same time as our inspection or at a different time agreed to by the owner of the property.
10.2 The specialist inspection reports will be provided as a separate document to the reports provided by Nightingale Property Inspections and may be delivered to you more than one day after the inspections are complete.
11. Costs and Quotes For Rectification, Maintenance Or Repairs:
11.1 Costs or quotes for building rectification or maintenance works are not provided within our reports. Should you require any costings you should seek further advice from an independent licensed builder or qualified tradesperson.
11.2 Nightingale Property Inspections is solely focussed on property inspections to ensure you receive an unbiased assessment of the property and therefore we are not available for rectification works, maintenance, pest treatment or providing cost estimates for this type of work.
12. Loss and Damages:
12.1 We will not be liable for any third party loss or damage suffered by any person other than you in connection with the Inspection Report’s use. We are released from any claims or further actions, damages or loss whatsoever if this report is to be used by another person or entity without our written permission to do so.
12.2 We will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by any person, including you, for any errors or omissions in our inspection reports where issues/defects/damage/maintenance/hazards are identified after our service has been completed, and where the issue was not reasonably or readily identifiable at the time of the inspection.
12.3 The inspector can only report on issues/defects/damage/maintenance/hazards that are observed by him/her at the time of the inspection.
13. Purchasing Copies Of Our Reports:
13.1 In the case of purchasing copies of reports from older inspections, the purchaser understands that further deterioration, damage or wear/tear may have occurred to the property since the original inspection was carried out and that these changes cannot be accounted for within the report. An additional follow-up inspection can be arranged to detect changes to the condition of the property if required.
14. Complaints Procedure:
14.1 In the event of any dispute or claim arising out of, or relating to the Inspection or the Report, You must notify Us as soon as possible of the dispute or claim by email or mail.
14.2 You must allow us (which includes persons nominated by us to visit the property and give us full access in order that we may complete a follow-up inspection and fully investigate the complaint. That visit must occur within twenty-eight (28) days of your notification to us.
14.3 You must allow us to remedy the complaint or amend the report where possible and where that would resolve the complaint. You will be provided with a written response to your dispute or claim within twenty-eight (28) days of the date of the follow-up inspection.
14.4 If You are not satisfied with our response you must within twenty-one (21) days of your receipt of our written response refer the matter to a Mediator nominated by us from the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators of Australia.
14.5 The cost of the Mediator will be borne equally by both parties or as agreed as part of the mediated settlement.
14.6 Should the dispute or claim not be resolved by mediation then the dispute or claim will proceed to arbitration. The Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators of Australia will appoint an Arbitrator who will hear and resolve the dispute. The arbitration, subject to any directions of the Arbitrator, will proceed in the following manner:
- The parties must submit all written submissions and evidence to the Arbitrator within twenty-one (21) days of the appointment of the Arbitrator; and
- The arbitration will be held within twenty-one (21) days of the Arbitrator receiving the written submissions. The Arbitrator will make a decision determining the dispute or claim within twenty-one (21) of the final day of the arbitration. The Arbitrator may, as part of his determination, determine what costs, if any, each of the parties are to pay and the time by which the parties must be paid any settlement or costs.
- The decision of the Arbitrator is final and binding on both parties. Should the Arbitrator order either party to pay any settlement amount or costs to the other party but not specify a time for payment then such payment shall be made within twenty-one (21) days of the order.
14.10 In the event you do not comply with the above Complaints Procedure and commence litigation against us then you agree to fully indemnify us against any awards, costs, legal fees and expenses incurred by us in having your litigation set aside or adjourned to permit the foregoing Complaints Procedure to complete.
15. Third Parties and Auctions:
15.1 Compensation will only be payable for losses arising in contract or tort sustained by the Client named on the front of this report.
15.2 Any third party acting or relying on this Report, in whole or in part, does so entirely at their own risk.
15.3 If a report is ordered by a Real Estate Agent or a Vendor for the purpose of auctioning a property then the Inspection Report may be ordered up to seven (7) days prior to the auction, copies may be given out prior to the auction and the Report will have a life of 14 days during which time it may be transferred to the purchaser. Providing the purchaser agrees to the terms of this agreement then they may rely on the report subject to the terms and conditions of this agreement and the Report itself.
16. Sale or provision of the report:
16.1 The Report may NOT be sold or provided to any other person, other than the purchaser of the report or their acting agent(s), without the permission of Nightingale Property Inspections.
16.2 If we give permission we may at our own discretion allow the report to be sold or provided on specific conditions and fees may apply.
16.3 Acting agents, who view this report on behalf of the purchaser of the report, shall not use, provide or show the report to any other person without the permission of Nightingale Property Inspections.
16.5 We hold the right to supply the report to whomever we choose however we are not required to do so.
In the case of purchasing copies of inspection reports, it is also important that you understand the scope of our inspections and what’s included in these reports.
All conditions below shall apply during the building inspection process and in delivery of the building inspection report.
1. Nightingale Property Inspections offers four different types of building inspection services:
Structural Building Inspection
OR Comprehensive Building Inspection
OR Commercial Property Inspection
OR Special Purpose Building Inspection.
Your invoice shows the type of inspection that has been requested.
- 1.1 In the case of a Structural Inspection the major load-bearing components of the building are checked which can include any of the following areas provided there is safe and reasonable access to each area: the exterior walls; the roof frame including inside the roof space, the interior walls; the interior floors; and the foundations and subfloor space.
- 1.2 In the case of a Comprehensive Building Inspection the following areas will be inspected, additional to the areas listed in the Structural Inspection, provided there is safe and reasonable access: exterior cladding; interior cladding; roofing, gutters and downpipes, all items that open/close/latch such as doors, windows, the general condition of cabinetry; general condition of visible plumbing components such as taps, faucets and under-sink drains; additional exterior features up to 30 metres from the main dwelling and within the property boundary such as patios, verandahs, carports, fences, gates, garages; the site including paving, pathways and driveways.
- 1.3 In the case of a Commercial Property Inspection the following areas will be inspected, additional to the areas listed in the Structural Inspection, provided there is safe and reasonable access: exterior cladding; interior cladding; kitchens, bathrooms, offices, storerooms, shop fronts, all items that open/close/latch such as doors, windows, cupboards; additional exterior features up to 30 metres from the main building and within the property boundary such as patios, verandahs, carports, garages; the site up to 30 metres from the main building and within the property boundary including paving, pathways and driveways. Commercial and industrial equipment and fit-outs are excluded from the inspection.
- 1.4 In the case of a Special Purpose Building Inspection, any one or more of the above areas may be inspected depending on what has been requested by you. We will discuss your requirements prior to and/or during your inspection.
2. Additional buildings – sheds, garages etc: the inspector will also inspect relevant features of the property within 30 m of the main building (the building agreed to be inspected in our quote) and within the boundaries of the site, or as otherwise agreed in the inspection agreement. In this context, relevant features include car accommodation, detached laundry, ablution facilities and garden sheds, retaining walls more than 700 mm high, paths and driveways, steps, fencing, earth embankments, surface water drainage and stormwater run-off. Depending on the size and extent of these additional buildings your quote may include fees to cover this.
3. The report will advise on minor and major defects to the building’s elements and any safety hazards that were observed by the inspector on the day and time of the inspection.
4. The Inspector will advise you should there be the need to carry out an Invasive Inspection to the property that they inspected. In the event an Invasive Inspection should be required, then we advise you do not agree to anything until this Invasive Inspection has been completed and reported on.
5. We will at times recommend other types of inspections that are out of our areas of expertise during our inspection reporting process.
6. This Inspection will not cover or report the items listed in Appendix D to AS4349.1-2007. A copy of Appendix D can be provided upon request.
7. The following items are outside of our area of expertise and no inspection will be carried out for these items as part of a building or maintenance inspection. We will only report on safety hazards associated with these elements if the hazard is observed and known by the inspector at the time of the inspection:
- Plumbing, gas or electrical systems.
- The status of the connection of services such as telephone, power, water or internet.
- Magnesite.
- Solar power panels.
- Fireplaces, fuel heaters, chimneys and flues.
- Services including fire and smoke detection, air-conditioning, TV, sound and communications, intercom systems, garage door mechanisms, alarm and security systems.
- Swimming pools and associated pool equipment or spa baths and spa equipment.
- Appliances such as dishwashers, ovens, stoves and ducted vacuum systems.
- Air-conditioning systems including ducted or split systems.
- Environmental, health or biological risks including but not limited to asbestos, mould, allergens, soil or water contamination, lead content, radon).
- The buildings compliance with the provision of any building act, code regulation(s) or by-laws.
- The ground on which the building rests, or if it has been filled, or is liable to subside, swell or shrink, or is subject to landslip or tidal inundation, or if it is flood-prone.
- Commercial or industrial equipment, tools and fit-outs.
Any of the above matters should be referred to a qualified tradesperson, service technician or professional consultant who specialises in that component or field.
8. Where possible, the records of the appropriate local authority should be checked by you to determine or confirm the following items, as these areas will not be included in our reports:
- whether the ground on which the building rests has been filled, is liable to subside, is subject to landslip or tidal inundation, or if it is flood-prone;
- the status of the property and services (e.g. compliance of the building with the provisions of any building Act, restrictive covenants, code, regulation or by-laws); and
- whether the local council has issued a building certificate or other notice for the dwelling.
- Where appropriate, legal advice (e.g. from a solicitor) should be sought to explain title and ownership matters and to deal with matters concerning easements, covenants, restrictions, zoning certificates and all other law-related matters.8. Where possible, the property’s title and records from the appropriate local authority should be checked by you to determine or confirm the following items, as these areas will not be included in our reports:
In the case of purchasing copies of inspection reports, it is also important that you understand the scope of our inspections and what’s included in these reports.
All conditions below shall apply during the timber pest inspection process and in delivery of the timber pest inspection report.
1. All aspects of the main building and any other buildings on the property, as requested to be inspected by you, including grounds and garden features up to 50m from each building, will be checked for evidence of timber pest infestation, damage and susceptibility.
2. The inspector may use a probe or screwdriver to tap and sound some timbers and may use a sharp knife to carry out some `splinter testing on structural timbers in the sub-floor and/or roof void. Splinter testing WILL NOT be carried out where the inspection is being carried out for a Client who is a purchaser and not the owner of the property being inspected.
3. The inspector may use a moisture meter to check moisture levels in walls that back onto wet areas such as showers etc. Other than these areas the moisture meter will not be used on other surfaces except where the visual inspection indicates that there may be a need to further test the area.
4. If the property to be inspected is occupied then you should be aware that furnishings, household items and commercial fit-outs may be concealing evidence of Timber Pests, which may only be revealed when the items are moved or removed. In some cases, the concealment may be deliberate.
5. The Inspection and resulting report will be confined to reporting on the discovery, or non-discovery, of infestation and/or damage caused by subterranean and dampwood termites (white ants), borers of seasoned timber and wood decay fungi (rot), present on the date and time of the Inspection.
6. The Inspection will not cover any other pests and the report will not comment on them.
7. Dry wood termites (Family: KALOTERMITIDAE) and European House Borer (Hylotrupes bajulus linnaeus) will be excluded from the Inspection.
8. The inspection will report any evidence of a termite treatment that happens to be found. Where evidence of a treatment is reported then the client should assume that the treatment was applied as a curative and not as a preventative. You should obtain a statement from the owner as to any treatments that have been carried out to the property. It is important to obtain copies of any paperwork issued.
9. MOULD: Mildew and non-wood decay fungi are commonly known as Mould and is not considered a Timber Pest but may be an indicator of poor ventilation or the presence of termites, wood decay or water leaks. We may comment on the possible presence of mould in our report, but we will not confirm it’s presence or provide information as to the extent of mould and further advice should be obtained from a qualified environmental health scientist or a building biologist who specialises in this field.
10. Nothing contained in the report will imply that any inaccessible or partly inaccessible area(s) or section(s) of the property are not, or have not been, infested by termites or timber pests. Accordingly, the report will not guarantee that an infestation and/or damage does not exist in any inaccessible or partly inaccessible areas or sections of the property. Nor can it guarantee that future infestation of Timber Pests will not occur or be found.
11. Determining the extent of timber pest damage:
- The report will not and cannot state the extent of any timber pest damage.
- If any evidence of Timber Pest activity and/or damage resulting from Timber Pest activity is reported either in the structure(s) or the grounds of the property, then you must assume that there may be some structural or concealed damage within the building(s).
- An invasive Timber Pest Inspection (for which a separate contract is required) should be carried out and you should arrange for a qualified person to complete a structural inspection and to determine the full extent of the damage.
- If Timber Pest activity and/or damage are found, within the structures or the grounds of the property, then damage may exist in concealed areas, eg framing timbers. In this case, an invasive inspection is strongly recommended. Damage may only be found when wall linings, cladding or insulation are removed to reveal previously concealed timber.
- Where visual evidence of inactive termite workings and/or damage is located, it is possible that termites may still be active in the immediate vicinity and the termites may continue to cause further damage.
- It is not possible, without benefit of further investigation and inspections over a period of time, to ascertain whether any infestation is active or inactive. Continued, regular, inspections are essential.
In the case of purchasing copies of inspection reports, it is also important that you understand the scope of our inspections and what’s included in these reports.
All conditions below shall apply during the tax depreciation schedule process and in delivery of the tax depreciation schedule report.
1. Nightingale Property Inspections will arrange for an accredited and fully insured property inspector to attend the property and make a record of depreciable assets (the ‘site inspection’ ‘site survey’ or ‘site record’). We act as agents to collect the property data that is required by a quantity surveyor to prepare a tax depreciation schedule.
2. We will also ask you for some further information, by way of an online questionnaire and/or emails and/or phone calls about your purchase of the property and its use as an investment property for the purposes of producing an income, including but not limited to the following information where applicable: purchase date, construction date, total purchase price, date of renovations, cost of renovations by area renovated, costs and dates of newly installed plant & equipment, furnishings and equipment supplied with the rental.
3. We will not be responsible for obtaining, calculating, collating or storing your raw or original financial records in relation to the information required in Part 2 above (receipts, invoices, spreadsheets, plans, records or communications from contractors/builders, permits or approvals, and so on). You agree to supply us with whole figures and complete dates where requested, or copies of plans if required. We suggest you engage your accountant or bookkeeper if your financial records need calculating or finalising, before providing them for the tax depreciation schedule. We also recommend that you seek a secure storage solution for retaining these records as they may be required by the Australian Tax Office in the future as evidence of the information that was supplied for your tax depreciation schedule.
4. All inspections will be a non-invasive visual inspection to record and measure depreciable assets at the property. Our inspection and records will be limited to those areas and sections of the property to which safe and reasonable access is both available and permitted on the date and time of Inspection.
5. Nightingale Property Inspections will then arrange for a certified quantity surveyor to prepare the tax depreciation schedule using the data collected during the site inspection and via the online questionnaire and any other communications with you. This schedule will include worksheets and summaries using the diminishing value method and/or prime cost method. Once we have all the required information from you this schedule is usually ready within two weeks.
6. On completion of your schedule, we will forward you the schedule and a copy of the property inspection report (the site record).
In the case of purchasing copies of inspection reports, it is also important that you understand the scope of our inspections and what’s included in these reports (also see section 12). You are also required to agree to these terms and conditions before a report will be made available for purchase.
1. Nightingale Property Inspections will arrange for an accredited and fully insured property inspector to attend the property and take a record of the current condition of the property, and provide you with either a Property Condition Report or a Routine Rental Inspection Report.
2. All rental property inspections will be a noninvasive visual inspection to record the condition of the property on the day of the inspection. Our inspection and records will be limited to those areas and sections of the property to which Reasonable Access (see definitions below) is both available and permitted at the time of the inspection. We will record all damages and faults found at the property that were visible to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
3. We will provide you with an electronic document as your complete report within two business days of completing the property inspection, or within another timeframe as agreed to by us and you.
4. Reports will be completed using our property inspection software, or by a property management agency’s chosen software to which we are granted access, as agreed to between us prior to the inspection.
5. Nightingale Property Inspections can arrange for copies of the report(s) to be issued to additional parties on your request (such as your Property Manager, your Tenants, your maintenance team). If these copies are to be provided other than electronically (printed, disc, USB) an administration fee will be charged as agreed to by us and you.
In the case of purchasing copies of inspection reports, it is also important that you understand the scope of our inspections and what’s included in these reports.
All conditions below shall apply during the dilapidation survey process and in delivery of the dilapidation survey report.
1. An initial inspection and report is undertaken prior to works commencing so that any cracking and/or damage is documented. A final inspection may be undertaken on completion of the works and any changes are documented so that remedial works can be undertaken.
2. Nightingale Property Inspections will carry out a visual inspection of the following areas of the property or properties, as instructed by you, for the purpose of carrying out a written and photographic record of existing cracking and damage to the exterior and/or interior of the property. Provided there is safe and reasonable access at the time of the inspection we will survey:
- exterior and interior walls
- exterior and interior cladding
- roof exterior
- interior floors
- interior ceiling
- inside the roof space (where applicable)
- within the sub floor space (where applicable)
- additional exterior features such as patios, verandahs, retaining walls, carports, garages
- the site including paving, pathways and driveways (if applicable)
- and the boundaries including fences and gates (if applicable)
3. Councils can request that a dilapidation report cover areas outside of a building site such as footpaths, kerbing and condition of the road as they are a Council asset and any damage must be repaired. Council assets will be included in our survey if requested by you.
4. For the purpose of this report, the street frontage is referred to as the front of the property.
5. The report will advise on visible minor and major defects, areas that may require maintenance and any cracking visible to the building’s elements on the day and time of the inspection.
5. Any cracking noted in this report is a record only of the existence of the cracks. A structural engineer should be consulted to advise on the seriousness of the cracks and to make any recommendations.
6. Safety hazards will always be reported if found. The home-owner will be advised of any safety hazards found as a result of the survey, provided they are contactable at the time of the inspection.
7. The Inspector will not conduct any invasive inspections. Written instructions must be provided for any invasive inspections required now or in the future as the Inspector will not cut, break apart, dismantle or remove any objects of roofing, wall or ceiling linings, A/C ducting, foliage, roof insulation, floor or wall coverings, fixtures, furnishings or any personal belongings currently in place.
8. The Inspector will advise you should there be need to carry out an Invasive Inspection to the property that they inspected. In the event an Invasive Inspection should be required, then we advise you to not agree to anything until this Invasive Inspection has been completed and reported on.
9. We will at times recommend other types of inspections that are out of our areas of expertise during our inspection reporting process.
10. This Inspection will not cover or report the items listed in Appendix D to AS4349.1-2007. A copy of Appendix D can be provided upon request.
11. The following items are outside of our area of expertise and no inspection will be carried out for these items:
- Magnesite.
- Solar power panels.
- Fireplaces, fuel heaters, chimneys and flues.
- Any services including fire and smoke detection, air-conditioning, TV, sound and communications, intercom systems, garage door mechanisms, alarm and security systems.
- Any swimming pools and associated pool equipment or spa baths and spa equipment.
- Any appliances such as dishwashers, ovens, stoves and ducted vacuum systems.
- Any air-conditioning systems including ducted or split systems.
- Environmental or health or biological risks (eg. asbestos content or presence thereof, mould, allergens, soil toxicity, lead content, radon or urea-formaldehyde).
- The buildings compliance with the provision of any building act, code regulation(s) or by-laws.
- The ground on which the building rests, or if it has been filled, or is liable to subside, swell or shrink, or is subject to landslip or tidal inundation, or if it is flood-prone.
- The location of fencing in relation to the boundaries.
Any of the above matters may be the subject of a special-purpose inspection report, which is adequately specified and undertaken by an appropriately qualified inspector of those services.
12. A copy of the dilapidation survey report should be served on all affected parties and signed before the commencement of works. Nightingale Property Inspections will not be responsible for serving the reports to all affected parties unless requested by you.
13. The dilapidation survey report is not intended to be used as a certificate of compliance for any law, warranty or insurance policy against future problems.
In the case of purchasing copies of inspection reports, it is also important that you understand the scope of our inspections and what’s included in these reports.
All conditions below shall apply during the final inspection process and in delivery of the final inspection report.
1. Nightingale Property Inspections will arrange for an accredited and fully insured property inspector to attend the property and take a record of the current condition of the property, and provide you with a Final Inspection Report. Generally, in Western Australia, this inspection occurs within 5 working days prior to settlement or possession.
2. All inspections will be a non–invasive visual inspection to record the condition of the property on the day of the inspection. Our inspection and records will be limited to those areas and sections of the property to which safe and reasonable access is both available and permitted at the time of the inspection.
3. We will record the condition of all items included in the final inspection as they were found at the property at the time of the inspection.
4. A Final Inspection may include checks and information on any of the following, as applicable to the property:
The condition of chattels and equipment such as:
- All lights & light switches throughout the property
- All power points throughout the property
- Oven and/or Stove
- Rangehood
- Dishwasher
- Exhaust fans & ceiling fans
- Air-conditioning units including remotes
- Heaters
- Curtains, blinds and shutters
- Garage door, including remotes
- Alarm system
- Swimming pool / Spa equipment (electric cleaners, pump, filter)
- Bores / pumps
- Hot Water System(s)
- All taps and drains inside & outside the home
- Reticulation system
- Solar system including batteries and switches
- Gardens and lawns in the same condition as they were on placing the offer
Information on applicable services for the property and other items required by the contract of sale such as:
- What are the sprinkler days?
- What day is rubbish collected?
- Are user manuals and warranty details provided for all electrical appliances?
- Have any other specified chattels included in the sale been left at the property in appropriate condition?
- Are all access devices (keys, remotes, security codes) available?
- Will all rubbish be removed from the property prior to settlement?
- Have any repairs that were required following building and pest inspections been completed?
4. On receiving our report it will be your responsibility to use our report (containing written comments and photos of all items inspected) to communicate any further negotiations or requirements from the Vendor or with your agent. We will not enter into these negotiations on your behalf.
5. We will provide you with an electronic document as your complete report within one day of completing the property inspection, or within another timeframe as agreed to by us and you.
6. Nightingale Property Inspections can arrange for copies of the report(s) to be issued to additional parties on your request (such as your Buying Agent or Settlement Agent). If these copies are to be provided other than electronically (printed, disc, USB) an administration fee will be charged as agreed to by us and you.