NELSON BUILDING REPORTS

Verbal reports are not a good idea

Purely verbal reports, where there is no written record of the findings of an inspection, have a fundamental issue.

Misunderstanding.

Verbal communication is not an efficient method to transfer a large quantity of complex information.

A standard pre-purchase building inspection often finds 30 or more issues to bring to a prospective buyer’s attention.

The issues come in a variety of types: structural issues that need to be attended to urgently; building faults; hazards; maintenance issues to think about in the long term; recommendations for improvements in the future. And some basic issues can be abstract: the implications of living in a Flood, or Fault Overlay zone.

How do you obtain good understanding of all that information in one hit? Important points might be missed, or not fully understood. And few have the concentration to listen to a list of 30 issues and their explanation.

There is too much scope for misunderstanding, or forgetting after a few days.

And then there is the issue of telling someone wanting to buy the house who then may have to convey the complex issues to their partner.

A comprehensive written report gets around that.

Verbal reports are, however, useful for auction properties.

If successful in purchasing the property they should subsequently be upgraded to a written report.