Your Building Report Questions Answered:

1. Is Thermal Imaging an extra cost?

No extra charge - It’s all included! We use a good quality, high-end thermal camera in every inspection - not just an app on a smart phone! See photos of some of the damage our thermal imaging has found

2. Is travel included in the report cost?

Yes, we include travel to all local areas in the price of our standard inspections. This includes Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Central Coast & Maitland. For travel beyond this region, there is a minimal extra charge covering the additional travel time and fuel expenses. If you need a firm quote for extended travel, please contact us - we do travel as far south as Sydney, as far west as upper Hunter Valley, 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, ever 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. Although many building inspectors talk about being ‘certified’ there is actually no government certification available for building inspectors or consultants at this time...

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 the general public.

As there is currently no license required for Building Inspectors, buyers should be aware - 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 our 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 extra time is covered by our standard Building Inspection fees - there is no surcharge for this.

7. I need the building report asap… Can I get it in 24 hours?

Do you need your report quickly? We will give you a verbal report on the same day, and email you a written report within 24 hours from the time of inspection. If you need our 24 hour service, just make a note of it in our online booking form!

8. 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. Having two specialists involved and working together provides 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 arrange a pest report for you with a specialist pest controller, and we don't add a surcharge for organising this.