Buying a house in Palmerston North

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Lizard1977

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#290100 21-Oct-2021 09:33

I'm looking at buying a house in Palmerston North. There is a place I have my eye on (selling via auction), and I have a copy of a builder's report supplied by the vendor. I'm going to the second open home later this morning, and will be taking a close look at the items identified in the builder's report, and will consider getting my own inspection report. But it would be helpful if there are fellow GZers (especially if you are in PN) who might be able to provide some insights on the matters raised by the builder's report, and can maybe suggest whether these are red flags that I need to be aware of. I don't think it's appropriate to share the builder's report I've been supplied in a public forum, so if you think you might be able to help please DM me and I can send through the report and get some advice.

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#2798454 21-Oct-2021 09:40

Maybe you can copy and paste the key things you're concerned about in here, rather than sharing the whole thing.

chevrolux

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#2798457 21-Oct-2021 09:51

I'd generally look at just a few things as "deal breakers" in a builders report. Also around Palmy there is one particular house inspector who likes to be EXTREMELY thorough to the point where I believe is problematic. But I can understand why they do from a liability/reputation stand point.

So my thoughts go:
- If piles, are they all good? Getting a pile replaced is expensive.
- How's the roof? Again, expensive to replace. But perhaps if just minor maintenance, not a big deal.
- Plaster exterior? Is the plaster sound. Like if its stucco, are there any "powedery" spots. Main concern here being water ingress.
- Rubber wiring? If present, that's a complete re-wire or no insurance (pre-1950's I believe is the general indicator?)

And other than that, its just get your lawyer to check the title. Just get the records from council. PNCC will either give you them at no cost, or if there are a larger number of pages charge a small fee to get them together. Idea is just check things like "does the floorplan equal what the house looks like" (And if so, have any important walls been removed), is there some new building on the section that has no consent, etc etc.

And good luck!!

Lizard1977

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#2798458 21-Oct-2021 09:52

I did think about that, but I thought selections out of context are easy to misconstrue. For instance, in several places they refer to "higher moisture readings" which set off my alarm bells, but in their general summary the inspector categorises the property generally as "typical" in terms of both major and minor defects, and "average" when describing the overall condition of the property. Without having the whole report to refer to, I figured it would be too general and vague. But if you think it's okay:

Lizard1977

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#2798465 21-Oct-2021 10:01

chevrolux:

I'd generally look at just a few things as "deal breakers" in a builders report. Also around Palmy there is one particular house inspector who likes to be EXTREMELY thorough to the point where I believe is problematic. But I can understand why they do from a liability/reputation stand point.

So my thoughts go:
- If piles, are they all good? Getting a pile replaced is expensive.
- How's the roof? Again, expensive to replace. But perhaps if just minor maintenance, not a big deal.
- Plaster exterior? Is the plaster sound. Like if its stucco, are there any "powedery" spots. Main concern here being water ingress.
- Rubber wiring? If present, that's a complete re-wire or no insurance (pre-1950's I believe is the general indicator?)

And other than that, its just get your lawyer to check the title. Just get the records from council. PNCC will either give you them at no cost, or if there are a larger number of pages charge a small fee to get them together. Idea is just check things like "does the floorplan equal what the house looks like" (And if so, have any important walls been removed), is there some new building on the section that has no consent, etc etc.

And good luck!!

Care to name that house inspector (via DM)? :) Would be good to know.

The report supplied said that the roof (decromastic tiles) have had a kowhai restoration done on it.

The sub-floor inspection reported that bearers, joists and piers/foundation walls were in acceptable or reasonable condition with no visible major defects. Dampness was marked as ok, but no polythene on ground. The only other comment was about the particle board around the toilet area being compromised, and insulation in place.

Wiring wasn't inspected, but it's a 1970s house.

timmmay

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#2798467 21-Oct-2021 10:06

My thoughts as someone who owns an old house but has no building training / knowledge:

Looks like you need guttering cleaned and also realligned. Few grand I guess, depends how much work and how easy access is, unless you replace the lot.
Some general plumbing work required with downpipes, bit more over the spouting
Maybe need to replace toilet floor. Builder for half a day to a day plus some materials I guess @ $80/hr
Might be some minor leaking of the exterior near the doors. Probably need a builder to assess estimate. Might not be urgent, something to do eventually, nothing really costs less than a days work for a builder plus materials. Might be a grand and a bit of materials, might have to redo a bunch of stuff for thousands
Bathroom moisture may be a concern. Re-doing a bathroom can cost between $10K and $50K, with $50K being a complete strip, high quality fittings, underfloor heated tiles, etc, and $10K being a quick replacement with low end stuff. If you have moisture you probably want to strip and replace, $20 - $30K. But if it's ok and not causing problems maybe can be done in a few years.

jonathan18

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#2798527 21-Oct-2021 10:23

chevrolux:

I'd generally look at just a few things as "deal breakers" in a builders report. Also around Palmy there is one particular house inspector who likes to be EXTREMELY thorough to the point where I believe is problematic. But I can understand why they do from a liability/reputation stand point.

I doubt it's the same inspector but I recall the report we got done for our current house in PN advised that the roof would need to be replaced within 2-3 years. About seven years after we bought the place we brought in roofers to quote for a replacement roof, only to be advised by more than one that 99% of the iron was fine, and it just needed a couple of pieces and the chimney flashing replaced, all the iron re-nailed and the roof painted. It's now close to 10 years on since we apparently would have needed to have replaced the roof!

There are risks of playing it so conservative, eg scaring off potential purchasers, unnecessarily reducing the price people are willing to pay, or as nearly happened in our case encouraging owners to undertake work that simply isn't required... So, yeah, your suggestions of focusing on what really matters does make sense; there's also the option of getting a second opinion on those parts in particular.

timmmay

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#2798592 21-Oct-2021 10:39

We had a note in our house inspection that the exterior paint wasn't great (I forget the language) and the roof wasn't great either. We spent probably $5K and a few weeks of effort the first decade patching up the exterior, ended up spending $15K for a full strip and paint in year 11. Also replaced the roof in about year 5, cost about $15K as well.

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MadEngineer

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#2798593 21-Oct-2021 10:39

That loo floor would be a concern to me unless you’re planning on renovating it

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

Lizard1977

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#2798730 21-Oct-2021 12:13

Just come back from the open home, and the second viewing was interesting. I saw a lot more detail than I did the first time around, and what looked very tidy now looks much more DIY. I can see where they've painted to make it look fresh, for instance. Checking on some of the builder's report items was useful too. For instance, where they had noticed rot in one of the window sills in the bedrooms, I was able to see for myself. I could even stick a finger into the hole.

I'm feeling a lot more wary about it now - at the very least, it's adjusted my opinion of what a suitable price would be. I need to decide whether it's worth getting my own report on, or whether I move on and look for something else. Trouble is, this place is likely towards the top end of my budget, so I'm feeling pessimistic that I will find much better at this price, and that if I don't move on this place I may not find much better in my price range.

Geektastic

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#2798741 21-Oct-2021 12:42

I've yet to see a building report I consider worth the paper it's written on.

The lack of the equivalent of the RICS qualifications in NZ for (in this case) Building Surveyors means that pretty much anyone can produce building reports, rendering the usefulness of them extremely difficult to determine.

Loismustdye

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#2798752 21-Oct-2021 12:56

Lizard1977:

I did think about that, but I thought selections out of context are easy to misconstrue. For instance, in several places they refer to "higher moisture readings" which set off my alarm bells, but in their general summary the inspector categorises the property generally as "typical" in terms of both major and minor defects, and "average" when describing the overall condition of the property. Without having the whole report to refer to, I figured it would be too general and vague. But if you think it's okay:

my brother used to work for one of the big building inspectors in town here, they were very thorough, and had to be picky as customers would complain, but they owner could also be fairly unpleasant which was why he left.

think I’ve found the house this refers to :-)

our previous house had a conservatory and It could leak like a mofo. I wound up getting the roof replaced and replaced all the glazing rubber to seal it better. So watch that twin wall roof as it can get holes in it.

The Downpipe from this can be hooked up to the stormwater by yourself, just locate the nearest stormwater, dig a trench to it, lay a pipe from the Down pipe and connect to the stormwater outlet….not pricey just hard work. So whether you can manage with a wet back lawn till then. How wet was the lawn when you looked? Could you walk on it or not for fear of sinking in? Given the rain we’ve had recently if was OK to walk it might drain fairly well.

Bung

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#2798754 21-Oct-2021 13:01

Does the report include the distances to Bunnings, M10 and the Emergency Dept. For diyers and PBTech for geeks?

I doubt that there's a particle board floored bathroom from the 70s anywhere that doesn't have some damage. Window sills are also common faults especially the Customwood versions.

IronH

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#2798757 21-Oct-2021 13:02

Best of luck with the hunting. House prices here are rediculous. According to homes.co.nz my house has increased in value by 50% in the last twelve months alone. I have sympathy for anyone trying to buy a first home in the current market. I hope you find and get something that ticks enough boxes while still being affordable and not having any major issues.

MadEngineer

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#2798763 21-Oct-2021 13:09

Also, an advanced welcome to Palmy or are you already based here?

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

Lizard1977

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#2798769 21-Oct-2021 13:19

I've been here since 2000. My partner and I are separating (no condolences necessary - we're still very friendly, with no blame/hostility at all) so I'm looking for my own place.

Yes, house prices are ridiculous. I had hoped to be buying a year ago, and if I had been able to, with my current budget, I would have got something very nice. But now, I'm sitting just below the average, and I'm finding a lot of the hosues very average indeed.

The back lawn felt fine this morning. Same on Sunday.

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