Buying an established home in Wollert, what to check
Wollert homes range from 2000s estate builds to recent handovers. What a pre-purchase inspection covers under AS 4349.1, and what to look for.
In short: Suburban Wollert only really started in the early 2000s, so most established stock is young. That changes what matters when you inspect before buying.
Wollert is a young suburb on old farmland
This was sheep country from the 1830s, subdivided into farm lots in 1853 and later worked as dairy and Soldier Settlement land. Suburban development only began in earnest in the early 2000s. That means most established homes here are twenty years old at the outside, and many are far younger, sitting in estates like Aurora, Arramont and Lyndarum North.
What a young house still gets wrong
Age is not the only source of faults. On homes built in the last two decades the recurring findings are wet area waterproofing that has failed at hobs and thresholds, shower falls that pond, roof plumbing and flashing detail, mortar and articulation joint issues in brickwork, and site drainage that was never finished properly after landscaping went in.
What the inspection actually covers
A pre-purchase inspection is carried out to AS 4349.1. It is visual and limited to readily accessible areas. That means the roof space where there is safe access, the subfloor where one exists, the roof exterior, the interior, and the site within thirty metres of the building.
Owner completed work is the common trap
In established estate homes the risk often sits in what was added after handover. Decks, pergolas, carports, garage conversions, sheds, retaining walls and rear extensions may have been built without a building permit from a registered building surveyor. Ask the agent what approvals exist, and check with the City of Whittlesea if the answer is vague.
Reactive clay and what to look for outside
On this basalt plain geology, movement related cracking is the thing to look for around older estate homes. Check external brickwork for stepped cracking, look at whether the ground falls away from the slab, and note downpipes discharging at the base of walls. Internally, binding doors and cornice separation on one side of a house are worth recording.
Timing your inspection against the contract
Book before you sign where you can, or make the contract subject to a satisfactory inspection where the vendor will accept it. In a market where properties around Wollert have been turning over in around thirty days you may have very little time, so line up the inspector before you go to the open, not after your offer is accepted.
Written by the Owner Inspections team from inspections carried out in Wollert. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
