Due to restrictions and just common sense, the way building inspections are being done has changed because of this pandemic.
For the home owners safety, latex gloves, face masks and hand sanitiser are applied during the inspection of the house. My gloves are replaced during the inspection multiple times, to stop the transfer of germs from different surfaces that I have touched and hand sanitiser applied prior to the new gloves, in case the gloves tear. The mask is a P2 grade (N95), so the return air is filtered through the mask, not dumped through a valve into your house. Your safety is important, as is mine to me. Each house inspection has a new mask and the old one dumped with the gloves in my bin for disposal. My tablet and phone are wiped down with antiseptic after each inspection too.
I would recommend that you do not at this point in time, be present for the inspection, due to the risks associated with touching surfaces that may not be sterile. Of course when you do move into the house, you will give it a good clean, but during the private inspections it may have been touched by many people.
Keep safe, keep ringing for inspections if you are buying and we are allowed to work doing them for you.
​

Ant caps are used as a physical barrier, to deflect the termite mud works, so the termite workings can be seen and then treated appropriately once observed. A physical barrier such as an ant cap, will not stop termites, but allow for a visual inspection to be able to be done more easily. The house pictured above has none installed. A pest control company has obviously inspected this property and applied a chemical barrier. This is obvious due to the wall penetrations that have allowed access into the underfloor areas.
Note that due to the poor demolition, unsupported floor joists are now also an issue. 
​Debris from the demolition is also scattered around inhibiting viewing for possible termite mud workings.
This house had no active termites that I could locate, the under floor area was dry and ventilated, reducing the risk of termite activity.
The treatment chemical used was Premise, that has an active working life of 5 to 7 years and it was last sprayed in 2010 so was well overdue.
I recommended to my client that this termite treatment should be on going and to contact the last company involved, as they should also reinstate some of the brickwork.
​ I recommend this as I have duty of care to the purchaser.

Evaporative air conditioners can cause rust issues with roofing,guttering and down pipes. This is due to the reticulation of water increasing the salinity of the water run off.
Ideally PVC pipework should direct the water into a down pipe, not just a gutter and if the down pipe is PVC, no issues with rust can can develop. Unfortunately, this is not often done and hence rust issues, like in the photo above can happen.  This down pipe is extremely damaged but more commonly surface rust or rusted sections are seen around the down pipe near the air conditioner overflow. 
​ 

​Seaside living has many disadvantages, one being the rusting of steel items around the home. Staircase balustrades in particular, if steel, requires constant maintenance. Best practice is for hot dipped galvanising of all external rails, balustrades etc. Painting of red primed or mild steel that has not been hot dip galvanised as a finished manufactured product will undoubtedly rust.
Pre manufacturing of fully galvanised balustrade sections is common on higher end houses, but unfortunately more budget orientated houses are often produced cheaper. This results in the issues such as in the picture above. Total replacement is required, costing many thousands of dollars.

​Having been involved in the replacement of complete balustrades as a building work supervisor, I know first hand that each balustrade section can cost over $1,100. 
Each balustrade section requires measuring up, manufacturing, galvanising, powder coating then fitting. Most balconies have several pieces, so it's an expensive project.
If your'e looking at buying a coastal home and you notice a bit of rust, think of the consequences and expenses that may be involved. Or better yet, pay for an inspection from some one who knows what to look out for, so then you will know what you are really buying.

Timber trusses are an engineered product that cannot be modified in any way. A truss must be installed without flexing, hence should be lifted into position using an overhead crane. Even when first delivered on site must be stored flat.
Every time I see a damaged or modified truss in a roof and this week I have seen two houses like it, the rectification work required will be expensive. To fix an issue such as in the photos below, require an on site engineer to visit and assess the damage and find a solution. Then the required modifications, if the truss can be repaired, will need to be done by a licensed builder. This will be followed up by other trades to make good the damage done to the ceilings. Repair bills will be thousands of dollars, it isn't a cheap fix. 

Buying a shack can be a great adventure, you may however only see the fantastic views, lifestyle and a place to call your own away from the pace of city life. 
During a house and shack inspection, I get to spend 90 minutes looking at every aspect of the building, from the roof downwards.
All these photos are from one shack on the Murray River, that I looked at last week. From the inside looking up at the freshly painted crisp white ceilings looked fantastic.
Using a thermal camera, no insulation can easily be seen, in either walls or ceiling space. This will be a hot environment for your family during daytime summer, even at night with the air conditioning struggling to cope.
Guttering, although new to look at from underneath, are so poorly attached, with only a few gutter clips installed, will undoubtedly cause issues once a heavy rain hits the roofing.
The roofing has been sleeved with a poorly attached skinny strip of sheeting, as it was too short to reach the guttering. Then rusted roofing holes were patched with any type of sheeting the last owner could find.
Rusted sheeting still not patched in other areas or silicone placed over anything that should have been replaced, to temporarily stop leaking.
The eaves, above the verandah, show the bulging from water and leaf ingress into the ceiling space.
Other obvious issues, such as the lack of barge flashing's and obviously leaking pipe penetrations all add up to an expensive repair that you were probably unaware of at the time of making your offer to the vendor.
This shack had many other issues, but this article was simply about showing the poor roofing maintenance or patching up to sell issues that are quite common. 

Paying for a house inspection, you are getting your house examined for issues that include termite damage. However it takes at least another 30 minutes on top of the 90 minutes allocated for the house inspection to be thorough and look for active termites. This is why there is an additional fee, for a pest inspection in addition to the normal charge. If two reports are to be written up, there will need to be that extra fee. It's only fair for the time spent and it is in your best interest to have it done. I like to be pro active but also up front with my clients, I will only charge out the additional fee once on site and if an issue has been discovered. If I see no need for the pest inspection, I will not call you and advise it should be done. The way I see it, if you want to have both services done, I am more than happy to spend 2 hours at the house and supply two reports. If you are happy to just know that damage was discovered, you then know that there is likely structural damage and not want to proceed with buying the house, that's fine too, why should you spend more at this point. 
Fees and charges are explained on the home tab above. Thanks for having a read and I hope I can assist you with your biggest purchase, your next rental property or with an inspection for your holiday home.