Pre-Sale Building & Pest Inspections: Why Smart Sellers Get One Before They List

You’ve decided to sell. The house is looking its best, the photos are booked — and then, two weeks into the contract, the buyer’s building and pest inspector finds a problem you didn’t know about. Suddenly you’re renegotiating the price, scrambling for repair quotes, or watching the sale fall over entirely.

A pre-sale building and pest inspection (also called a vendor inspection) flips that script. Instead of waiting for the buyer’s inspector to find issues at the worst possible moment, you find them first — on your terms, before you list.

What is a pre-sale building and pest inspection?

It’s exactly the same thorough inspection a buyer would order — structure, roof, subfloor, wet areas, moisture, and a full timber-pest check — but commissioned by you, the seller, before the property goes to market. You get the same detailed, plain-English report, and you decide what to do with it.

Why get one before you sell?

• No nasty surprises mid-contract. You learn about any issues now, not when a deal is on the line.
• Fix things on your terms. With time up your sleeve, you can get competitive repair quotes and choose your own tradespeople — instead of accepting a buyer’s inflated “deduction.”
• Protect your price. The most common reason a sale price drops is a buyer’s inspection finding something. Handle it first and you remove their biggest bargaining chip.
• Sell faster, with fewer fall-throughs. Buyers move with more confidence on a property that has nothing to hide, which means cleaner offers and smoother settlements.
• Build trust. You can even share your report (or its findings) with serious buyers — transparency that sets your listing apart.

Doesn’t Queensland’s new seller disclosure law cover this?

This is where a lot of sellers get caught out. Queensland’s new Seller Disclosure regime (the Form 2 statement, in effect since 1 August 2025) requires you to disclose things like title details, easements and encumbrances — but it specifically does not require you to disclose the structural condition of the building, pest or termite issues, asbestos, or flood history.

And because Queensland still operates under “buyer beware” (caveat emptor), the responsibility to check those things falls on the buyer — which means almost every buyer will order their own building and pest inspection. A pre-sale inspection simply lets you see what they’ll see, first.

(This is general information, not legal advice — check your specific disclosure obligations with your conveyancer or solicitor.)

What we check

A full ADMIRED pre-sale inspection covers the building (roof exterior and space, internal and external walls, wet areas, subfloor, foundations, drainage and site works) and a complete timber-pest inspection (active termites, past damage, and conditions conducive to attack) — all to the relevant Australian Standards, with thermal imaging and moisture testing included.

When should you book it?

Ideally before your listing photos and first open home. That gives you the most time to act on anything the report flags, so the property is at its best from day one.

Pre-sale inspections across Brisbane & Ipswich

We carry out pre-sale building and pest inspections right across the western corridor — including Springfield Lakes, Redbank Plains, Ipswich, Goodna, Augustine Heights and surrounding suburbs.

👉 Thinking of selling? Book your pre-sale building and pest inspection → or call 0400 076 162 for a fast, fixed-price quote. QBCC-licensed, fully insured, same-day reports.