Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Is Thermal Imaging an extra cost?

It’s all included - No extra charge! We use a very good quality, high-end thermal camera in every inspection. See some thermal image pictures here.

2. Is travel included in the report cost?

Yes, we cover all local areas - Lake Macquarie - Newcastle - Maitland - in a standard inspection, and any travel is included in the price of the report. Travel beyond this region incurs a minimal extra fee covering our additional expenses for this. If you need a firm quote for extended travel, please contact us - we do travel as far south as Sydney and as far north as Kempsey. (Reports further afield than that we will asses on a case by case basis.)

3. Are you insured?

Yes, A to Z Building Reports carries BOTH Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance. However, as Marten is a thorough, careful and very experienced inspector, we have never had a claim on either, which means you can trust us.

Please note that there are no state regulations requiring Building Inspectors or Consultants to carry either Public Liability or Professional Indemnity insurance - Buyers should be wary and ask to see the Inspector’s insurance certificates.

4. Are you qualified?

Yes, Marten is a fully qualified Building Foreman Clerk of Works, and has over 35 years on site experience in the industry working in many different positions and responsibilities.

5. Are you licensed?

Good Question! At this time no license is available for Building Consultants or Building Inspectors in NSW. There was indeed a license for Building Inspectors, from 2001 to 2009, however unfortunately the NSW State Government discontinued this. This is a shame, as we believe that this profession should have a license to protect the public and for the sake of integrity. However, several years ago when a license was available for this field, Marten Hilberts was licensed, and would have continued being licensed had the Department continued to make this available.

We would like to see licensing being available again for Building Inspectors and Consultants as it weeds out those who are not competent, experienced and qualified in this profession, protecting both our profession and vulnerable home owners. As there is currently no license required for Building Inspectors, buyers should beware - not all ‘inspectors’ actually have experience and qualifications in building!

6. How long does the inspection take?

Depending on the property, and its state of repair, the average time spent on site is at least 2 to 3 hours. However we do not restrict on site time, rather we focus on finding and documenting any problems that you need to be aware of. There have been many times where Marten has spent 3 to 6 hours on site, due to a more problematic property. This is covered by our standard Building Inspection fees - there is no surcharge for this.

7. Is the Pest Report included?

We recommend that you seek the services of a dedicated & qualified Pest Controller, as this means that there are then two specialist inspectors checking over your property - a Building Inspector and a Pest Inspector - working together to provide you with a very thorough result. As the old saying goes, two heads are better than one! If you would like us to, we can organise a pest report for you, and we don't add a surcharge for organising this.