Sure, you already know a building inspection isn’t a box-ticking exercise. I mean, pretty much anyone can tell you that.
What we usually miss is how inspections quietly decide whether your property holds value, or bleeds it in ways that don’t show up until resale, or insurance time.
Building inspections are for leverage.
Most property value loss actually comes from moisture where “there shouldn’t be any,” but technically still passes a glance test. DIY modifications that are just indefensible.
A proper building inspection is there to tell you where leverage exists. Against sellers. Against time. Against insurers. Against future buyers who will commission a better inspection than you did.
Safe to say if your inspection report doesn’t change how you negotiate or plan, it didn’t do its job.
The conditions are the headline
Fixating on whether termites are present is the wrong question.
The real question is whether the conditions that attract termites are active or unmanaged. In Adelaide, that often means moisture imbalance, poor drainage, or landscaping decisions that made sense at the time.
If a report says “no active termites” but ignores conducive conditions, you’re holding a false sense of security. And future buyers won’t.
Structural movement doesn’t need to be dramatic to matter
It is direction, width, repetition, and location that tell much. Cracking alone doesn’t tell you much.
Vertical cracks in brickwork can mean something very different from stepped cracks near openings. Internal plaster cracking may look cosmetic until it aligns with external movement patterns.
What you should look out for is whether movement is progressive, seasonal, stabilised, or still active.
Moisture readings are only helpful if appropriately interpreted
Moisture meters only tell you where to look harder.
High readings without context lead to panic.
Whereas low readings without context lead to complacency.
In Adelaide homes, moisture issues often stem from older waterproofing standards, changes in ground levels over time, poor airflow in subfloors or roof voids, or bathroom or laundry upgrades done without proper membranes.
But a good (emphasis on ‘good’) building inspection explains why moisture is there and what happens if it stays.
Why regular building inspections outperform reactive fixes
Most value loss happens between major events, between purchase and resale. Between renovations. Between claims.
Regular building inspections catch drift. Small movement. Early moisture. Gradual deterioration. The kind of issues that cost little early and much later.
