Would I want my friend to know this?

The Nelson Building Reports, err, reports are based on the standard, NZS 4306:2005 Residential property inspection, but while they cover all the aspects required under the standard, they have additional information.

The test is: “If a friend was wanting to buy this house, would they want this knowledge?”

I assume while many people have a good understanding about houses, after all they have lived them all their lives, they might not know how it applies to any particular new house they encounter.

Buying a new home often has an emotional component, rather than being a purely rational decision. That is a key reason to get an informed opinion from someone who does not have any particular emotional attachment and can view the house with some objectivity.

I am prepared to state the obvious in my reports, because it might not, in fact, be entirely obvious to others. For instance: a reminder about steam cleaning the carpets while there is no furniture in the house. It is included because in the excitement of a huge new purchase it might be overlooked.

There is also some duty of care about safety issues, eg, glazing. Often I find standard glazing where it would now be compulsory to install safety glazing. Or, electrical safety switches, called RCDs or residual current devices, which are recommended to have installed on the switchboard/fuse box.

Would I want my friend to know about these issues? Of course.

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