Most people search for a house inspection — it is the same service. Alert Building Inspections is owned and run by Morgan Kircher, and every inspection is carried out by a trade-qualified inspector with hands-on construction experience — someone who has worked on buildings rather than only written about them. We know how buildings go together, what fails, and where the problems hide.
You are buying information you can act on while you still have a choice. We examine the structure, cladding and weathertightness, roof, subfloor and foundations, interior, and services — then tell you what needs attention, how serious it is, and what it will take to put it right. The report is bank-approved and covered by full indemnity insurance.
Your written report arrives within 24 to 48 hours, with photographs of every issue we found. We can provide verbal inspections the same day from $299 + GST when an auction has been brought forward, and written reports from $499 + GST. We confirm your quote before we attend, so the figure is settled up front.
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A typical house takes one to two hours on site — longer for a large, older or multi-level property. The inspector works from the outside in and from the top down: roof, cladding and joinery, then subfloor and foundations, then the interior and the services. Anything of note is photographed as it is found, and the findings are written up with severities so you can see at a glance what matters and what is minor. Every inspection follows NZS 4306:2005.
You are welcome to be there for the whole visit. Most buyers find it useful — you can ask questions while the inspector is looking at the thing you are asking about, rather than reading it cold in a report a day later.
Important: a building inspection is a visual assessment of accessible areas. We do not remove fixtures, lift floor coverings, cut into linings, or open walls. Where the visible evidence warrants it, we will recommend specific follow-up testing and tell you who should carry it out — that may be moisture testing, or a separate electrical, plumbing or structural engineering assessment. Giving you an opinion within our area of expertise, and naming the right specialist when the question sits outside it, is part of the job.
Alert Building Inspections provides building inspections throughout New Zealand, including Auckland, North Shore, West Auckland, East Auckland (Howick and Pakuranga), Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Tauranga, Dunedin, Whangarei, Rotorua, Hawkes Bay and Palmerston North. We list every area we work in on our locations page. A trade-qualified inspector attends in person, and we email your written report within 24 to 48 hours.
A building inspection is a visual, non-invasive assessment of a property's condition, carried out by an independent inspector. You need one if you are buying and want to know what you are taking on before you commit. The inspection costs a fraction of what a defect discovered after settlement can cost to fix.
Yes, and we encourage it. You are welcome for the whole visit — most buyers find it useful, because you can ask about something while the inspector is standing in front of it. If you cannot make it, the written report carries photographs of every issue, and we are happy to talk it through afterwards.
As early as you can, and before you sign anything unconditional. If you are buying at auction, the inspection has to happen before auction day, because an auction purchase is unconditional and there is no due diligence period to fall back on. For a conditional offer, book it as soon as the offer is accepted so the findings arrive well within the finance and due diligence window.
Usually a few days, and we can often fit in short notice where an auction has been brought forward. We need the property address to confirm your quote, and for a tenanted property we will need access arranged with the tenant. See what drives the cost.
Yes, and the questions change. In a unit title property, the exterior, roof and structure are usually common property owned by the body corporate, so the useful work is checking the interior, the services within your unit, and the body corporate's records — what has been maintained, what is proposed, and what is being spent. We will tell you what a general inspection can and cannot cover for your specific building.
They are different things. A council inspection happens during construction — the council checks the work at set stages and issues the Code Compliance Certificate when it is satisfied the work meets the Building Code. That is a compliance process, not a condition report, and it says nothing about how the building has performed since. An independent inspector carries out a building inspection now and reports on the property's current condition. For the records side, see LIM reports vs building reports.
It is worth considering. A pre-sale inspection finds problems while you still have time to fix them, and it means you aren't negotiating against a buyer's report you have never seen. If you already know what is wrong, you can price for it. Our services page sets out what we cover.
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