Talkingtarmac Inspections

An Adelaide building inspector

How Do You Choose A Good Real Estate Agent?

Buying or selling a home or real estate in adelaide is one of the largest decisions you’re likely to make.

You might be looking at buying a house built by a custom home builder in adelaide, or get something off the plan.

As exciting as it is to be moving on from or moving into a property, it can also be stressful and expensive.

By finding the best real estate agent in Adelaide, you’ll see the whole process in a totally different light.

How To Choose a Good Real Estate Agent in Adelaide

There are a few initial things you can do when starting out on your search for a good real estate agent.

  • Ask friends and neighbours for recommendations
  • Whether they use custom software developers or off-the-shelf CRMs
  • Find a colleague at work who has recently sold their home and ask which real estate agent they used and what was good or bad about them
  • Research agencies and check out reviews of individual agents online

Face to Face

Once you’ve got a shortlist together, do not be afraid to request a meeting with Real Estate agents face to face. Many agencies have offices that you can simply drop into so make sure you spend some time actually meeting potential agents – first impressions count and you’ll generally get a feel for whether you want to work with them.

Some homeowners who are seeking a real estate agent to help sell their property like to get a valuation of their home from more than one agent (usually up to 3 or 4) in order to be able to compare these and help with their decision.

Further Questions

Get together a list of questions that you want to ask a potential real estate agent. Take some time to consider the things that are important for you to know – a good agent will take the time to go through these with you and won’t pressure you into committing to anything before you’re ready.

It may also pay to investigate whether your agent is a specialist in one particular area. For example, an agent might know the coastal suburbs well and know the Henley Beach real estate market extremely well.

new home builder adelaide

Questions could include;

  • Do you have local knowledge of the area?
  • Have you sold homes like mine before?
  • What qualifications do you hold and what accreditations does the agency hold?
  • What fee do you charge and when is the payment for this required?
  • What do your fees include?
  • Where will you advertise my home?
  • Does your agency use social media around the website listings?

The Final Decision on which real estate agent to choose

Remember that you are in a powerful position. Real Estate Agents want your business. You can take your time to choose the right person for the job, and should never feel pressured, overlooked or ignored when speaking to a potential agent.

How To Qualify To Be An Adelaide Building Inspector 

Have you always had an interest in property and the building industry?

Do you want to be able to do building inspections in Adelaide?

Do you want a career that will enable you to use a variety of different skills whilst also helping people to spot major issues with properties before they purchase them?

Just like becoming a licensed LED lighting installer, Adelaide solar installer, or a Tesla powerwall installer a building inspector requires hard work and a good level of experience, yet it can bring huge rewards and with the ever growing number of people buying homes it’s a job that will continue to be needed.

What Does a Building Inspector Do?

 A building inspector will inspect a building that is due to be purchased in order to alert the potential buyer to the actual condition of the building.

They will be able to offer advice and information about the state of key structural features such as walls, ceilings and doors. A Building Inspector will look out for anything that could cause the buyer to either withdraw or decrease their offer – such as termite infestation or serious damp issues.

They will also identify if there are any issues with your wall cladding installation or roofing restoration issues.

Building inspection checklist

Want To Qualify As A Building Inspector?

There are no formal regulations regarding who can qualify as a Building Inspector, however the most successful inspectors will have completed a respected program from a reputable institution which is often entitled Building Inspector Training.

Most of these courses require potential inspectors to have at least a high school diploma – with a specialization in science and/or maths being seen as favourable.

As well as official training, the best building inspectors will have experience of both the construction industry and the real estate world. They may have been project managers on building sites and should have an understanding on the basics of aspects such as surveying, building codes and contractual law.

Skills To Help You Qualify As A Building Inspector

  • Attention to Detail
  • Good Verbal Communication Skills
  • Ability to write detailed and comprehensive reports
  • Reliability and Trustworthiness
  • Efficient and Assertive
  • Polite and Well Mannered

How Do You Know If You Have Had A Dodgy Building Inspection?

Did you employ a Building Inspector to look at your potential new home before buying it?

Did you feel as though you didn’t really obtain any useful information or were being given a report that was vague and could have been applied to any building in town?

Building Inspections are often a vital part of the purchasing process, however if you feel as though you’ve had a dodgy one you may have got unlucky.

Unfortunately, there are some poorly trained or unreliable inspectors out there.

The Building Inspection

Think about the inspection itself. Were you pre-warned what would be included in the inspection and what wouldn’t be? It’s important for a good inspection to be carried out in all areas of your home so not checking areas such as the roof, walls, doors and windows thoroughly is a real tell tale sign that things weren’t as they should have been. You should inspect a number of things, including the hydraulics maintenance in the home.

How long did the inspection last? If it was over in a matter of minutes, the chances are you had an inspector who didn’t take his time to uncover everything you needed to know and sadly you may have been short changed.

The Report

Use the report that you received from your building inspection as a starting point on deciding whether or not the money you spent was worth it. There’s no doubt that all reports should be specifically written for your exact property therefore if any of the contents look copied or generic, alarm bells should ring.

Think also about how quickly you got the report. If the inspection was only short and the report took weeks to come through, it sounds like you had an inspector who could have wasted both your time and money.

The Building Inspector

Sadly in most parts of Australia there are relatively few regulations in place to decide who can and can’t operate as a Building Inspector. The best way to find a good one is to ask friends and family for recommendations or seek out excellent reviews online.

Was your inspector polite, happy to both talk and listen, reliable, efficient and helpful? There’s no reason why your building inspector shouldn’t have been – the very best ones know that the potential purchase of a new home is a big deal and are patient and understanding to all customers.