Building & Pest Inspections: What They Won’t Catch
A building and pest inspection is one of the cheapest forms of insurance in the entire purchase process, but buyers sometimes treat the resulting report as more comprehensive than it actually is.
What a standard inspection covers
- Visible structural issues — cracking, movement, moisture
- Visible evidence of termite activity or damage
- General condition of accessible areas of the property
What it typically won’t catch
Standard inspections are visual and non-invasive — they generally don’t include moving furniture, lifting flooring, or accessing roof cavities and subfloors beyond what’s safely reachable. Issues hidden behind walls or under floor coverings can be missed entirely.
When to consider a specialist
For older properties, or ones with a complex history, a specialist structural engineer’s report can be worth the extra cost, especially if the standard report flags something ambiguous. This is best used inside your cooling-off window where one applies.
Read the report, not just the summary
The detail is often in the body of the report, not the one-line summary at the front — worth reading in full, or asking your buyer’s agent (see what a buyer’s agent actually does) or conveyancer to walk you through it.
