What a pre-purchase building inspection costs in Auckland

How much does a pre-purchase building inspection cost in Auckland?

For a standard three- or four-bedroom house, published Auckland prices for a full written report run from about $400 to $650 + GST. Shorter reports are advertised from about $300 + GST, and homes with six or more bedrooms or an architectural design are priced at $1,200 + GST at one firm. Weathertightness checks are sold as an add-on. Firms publish these as starting prices or tiers, so the quote for a particular house can differ.

Inspection firms are not named here because the figures are their advertising, not an independent survey. Treat the table as a sense of scale and ask for a written quote for the house you are buying.

What makes a building inspection cost more?

Size first: published price lists step up with the number of bedrooms. After that, the design and cladding of the house, the type of report, whether a weathertightness check is added, and whether you attend all move the figure. Consumer Protection notes that attending the inspection may cost slightly more, because questions take the inspector's time.

• Floor area and bedrooms. More rooms, more roof space and more subfloor to cover.
• Architectural or complex design. Several roof planes, split levels and long cladding runs take longer to assess.
• Cladding. Where weathertightness is a question, firms sell moisture testing as an extra.
• Report format. A short report costs less than a full written one and says less.
• Attendance. Walking round with the inspector is worthwhile and usually adds a little.
• Travel and urgency. Some firms charge for distance or a fast turnaround; ask.

Is the cheapest building report good enough?

Sometimes, but compare what each report includes before comparing prices. A short-form report may skip the detail you need on the subfloor or roof space, which is exactly where borer, rot and moisture show up in an older house. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act an inspector must charge a reasonable price, which is a floor on fairness, not a test of thoroughness.

Ask each firm the same questions: does the report follow NZS 4306, will the roof space and subfloor be entered or only viewed from the hatch, how are areas not reached recorded, is there a moisture meter in the kit, and how soon will the written report arrive. The answers say more about value than the headline figure. The guide to what a building inspection covers sets out the standard scope.

What does a borer inspection add to the cost?

A borer inspection arranged through this site costs $285 + GST. The fee is credited against the treatment if you go ahead with the recommended work through the same operator. It is a separate visit from the building inspection, focused on timber only, and its findings name the beetle, its activity, the members affected, moisture and any structural flag. Only one Auckland pest firm was found publishing a comparable figure, at $253 for a roof and subfloor inspection, GST not stated.

Whether it is worth paying for depends on the house. The fee is small next to the published treatment ranges on the borer cost guide, and smaller still next to builder repairs to a subfloor. For a newer house with treated framing and a clean building report, the money is usually better kept.

What is a realistic due-diligence budget for an older house?

For a villa or bungalow, plan for a full building report, a borer inspection, a LIM from Auckland Council, and your lawyer's review of the contract and title, with a builder's visit held in reserve if anything structural is flagged. The first two can be priced from published figures; the LIM fee is set by the council and legal fees by your lawyer, so ask each for a current figure.

Not every item applies to every purchase. A newer house may need only the building report and legal review; a century-old villa with a low subfloor may justify every line.

Do pre-purchase inspection prices include GST?

Most Auckland building-inspection price lists are published excluding GST, which adds 15%, so a $650 + GST report costs $747.50 once GST is added. A few firms publish without saying either way. When you compare quotes, put them on the same footing first, then compare what each includes, so a lower headline figure is not simply a different tax basis.

The same applies to borer figures: the inspection price above is quoted $285 + GST, and the published treatment ranges on the cost guide are mostly exclusive of GST too.

Who pays for inspections when a sale falls through?

The buyer who ordered them, in the ordinary case. Building and borer inspections are paid for whether or not you go ahead, and they belong to you rather than to the vendor. That is one reason to read the building report before ordering anything further, and to book extra checks only when the report or the house gives a reason.

If several buyers are looking at the same property, some vendors commission a report up front. Read it, but remember Consumer Protection's warning that the vendor was the client. Whether you can rely on it is a question for your lawyer. The open-home checklist helps you decide early whether timber is a likely issue before spending on reports.

Budget the whole check

• Pre-purchase building inspectionWhat an NZS 4306 pre-purchase building inspection covers, what it leaves out, and where borer fits
• Borer costPublished Auckland prices for borer inspections and treatment, and what moves them
• Pre-purchase borer inspectionA borer check timed to your building condition, read alongside the building report
• Reading a borer reportEach line of borer inspection findings explained, and what it means for a buying or repair decision