Australian Property News

In times of heavy rain beware the cancelled open home inspection

Posted on Wednesday, October 13 2010 at 3:37 PM

As the rain pounds down on Queensland’s southeast corner it’s the perfect time to inspect properties, but be wary of ‘cancelled’ open property inspections, according to buyers agent Liz Wilcox of Hot Property Specialists.

“The good part about this extreme weather we’re experiencing now is you get to see what the drainage is really like on that block you’re interested in,” said Wilcox.

“With the amount of rain we’ve had, because a lot of properties have drainage problems it makes it much easier to flag any issues, even for the building inspector!”

In conditions of torrential rain, most properties with problems will cancel open house inspections if they experience any flooding, said Wilcox.

Wilcox knows of one cancelled open house inspection in recent weeks for this very reason. “The selling agent said it was because the property owner didn’t want people traipsing mud through the house… but one of my building inspectors told me the real reason was because the granny flat built underneath was flooding.

“It’s also a good time to emphasise to buyers that they must insist sellers provide the final council approvals on a property because a lot of the time the properties aren’t council-approved,” she said.

“By the time the buyer’s solicitor knows about it it’s too late so just ask the agent if the property is council-approved, if they say ‘yes’ then ask them to show you the paperwork.”

The straightforward and gentle approach is often the best way, said Wilcox. “If the owner asks council for the papers then it takes them four days and $150, but if the buyer requests the information through council it’s more difficult because it needs to be done through a solicitor and can cost on average around $300.”