OUR VIEW: “Judge critical of pre-purchase property inspection sector and ‘poor quality’ reports after $500,000 leaky building case.
Though the house had serious weathertightness problems, two of the reports cleared the property, while just one identified moisture issues and recommended further investigation.
There are now calls for better standards, minimum qualifications and mandatory indemnity insurance for the sector to better protect Kiwis purchasing their biggest asset.
The plaintiff, Angelina Vanifatova, bought the four-bedroom unit in January 2021 for $773,000 but discovered that it leaked just six months after moving in.”
OUR VIEW
This case confirms our experience of the huge variability in the quality of pre-purchase building inspection reports. As the judge found, this is because the sector is unregulated, but that situation may continue with similar disastrous outcomes for homeowners who rely on reports which fail to identify major defects in houses.
NZ Herald Article (Paywalled) - https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland/judge-critical-of-pre-purchase-property-inspection-sector-and-poor-quality-reports-after-500000-leaky-building-case/DI4LYYT24JCK5BXNQBZ6HM3H7M/