20 Aug
The property market is a little bit quieter right now. I can feel it. There's not the frenzy of the last few months, and years. I reckon it's a good time to buy. Not as much competition about. Just wait - after the elections it will fire up again and prices will surge. Just inspected a house in John Street, Erskineville and it was real nice.

3 July
I went to a 10 year old townhouse in Gymea this morning. It looked like a really easy job. But as I entered the property I spotted a termite treatment. Why is there a termite treatment in a relatively new house I wondered. Found out soon enough - OMG, the roof was eaten out by termites. A bit unusual for a newish property, but you never know. You just never ever know.

23 June
I inspected a house today in Cremorne that presented so nicely - fresh paint, lovely flowers, designer furniture & brand new carpet. I guess the idea was that buyers wouldn't see the leaking roof tiles, cracks in the walls, sloping floors, rusted plumbing and unsafe wiring. Yes ! I guess that was the idea !!

27 March
I inspected two units today at opposite ends of Sydney but they had almost identical problems - damp !! Damp through planter boxes, damp through the walls, damp into the garages and damp through the balcony floors. And both buildings were less than 5 years old !! Disgusting !!

13 Feb
Termites !! Termites !! Termites!!! That's all I saw all day. They must be taking over the country. There was severe termite damage in the floors and roof in a house in Newtown, termites in the floors in Glebe and termites in the floors in Chatswood. I also forgot to mention - two out of the three houses also had rising damp !! When do I get a nice house to inspect?

21 Dec
I met a nice young couple at a house in Gymea today. Everything was going well until we got to the garage which had an old asbestos roof. I told them that asbestos roofs that are weathered can be a health risk and should be removed. They freaked out. I told them there was no need to freak out. All they had to do was have the roof removed but it put them off the property and they just walked away.

12 Nov
Had a busy day today. Started off in Baulkham Hills where I inspected a reasonable 35 year old brick veneer house that didn't have anything really horribly wrong. Then went to Mosman where I saw a newish house that wasn't too bad. And finally to Camperdown. No surprises there - rising damp, termites, unsafe wiring, roof repairs. It spoiled an otherwise good day, didn't it. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

5 Oct
I know that we need the rain but it makes it hard work for poor building inspectors. People say at least I'll be able to tell if the roof leaks but that's just not right. I don't need a rainy day to tell if the roof leaks. I can tell by the condition of the roof when I look at it from the outside and from the underside when I climb into the ceiling space. Then, I can tell you if it's in good condition, if it needs restoration or whether it needs replacement. Not only that, I'll even give you a pretty good idea about how much all those things will cost.

18 Aug
Have you ever seen a grown inspector cry? That was me today. This lovely couple met me at a house in Mosman. It was their dream home. They measured the rooms while I did my inspection. In their minds they could see where every piece of furniture was going to go. But I had to tell them the bad news - the place was eaten out by termites There was $100,000 worth of repairs needed before they moved in. They started crying. I started crying. Their baby cried. Everyone was crying. Hope tomorrow is a better day.

20 July
Oh oh. They're at it again - a quick paint job, nice display furniture, a bunch of flowers, music playing in the background and sellers think think that people will overlook the floors that have subsided and the roof tiles that are leaking. Hope you don't get bamboozled by sharp marketing tactics!!

5 June
Today I inspected a multi-million dollar mega-mansion right on the water. It was absolutely beautiful. That is, except for the damp. Did I say damp? This place was leaking like a sieve - through the roof, through the walls and under the floor. The buyers are going to have a heart attack when they read the report!!

14 April
Termites have made a good start to the year. I looked at four houses today and three of them had termite damage. Termites are terrible but one house was a disaster. This sure is good weather for termites - they love summer just like the rest of us. But all you home buyers out there - please, please be careful!!

21 March
We're back from holidays, eager, fresh and ready to go. And the property market is still H-O-T, especially in the inner city, north shore and eastern suburbs. People are as keen as ever, thank goodness. So a huge Happy New Year to everyone and here's hoping 2008 is as hectic as 2007.

2 Feb
Wow, what a year it's been - hectic from day one to the very last day before Christmas. I can't believe people are still buying houses one day before the holidays. Hey, don't you guys have anything better do do, like last minute shopping? But It's been a GREAT year and I want to thank each and every one of you, the house buying public for trusting me with to inspect your properties.  I'm going away for a couple of weeks (otherwise I just end up working every day) but I'll be back and looking forward to serving you in 2008. Please, please have a safe and happy holiday, and don't forget to look after each other.

17 Dec
I spent most of the day today in the north west part of Sydney - Hunters Hill, Eastwood, West Ryde. I guess that's where the more affordable houses are these days. And lovely houses they were too. There was not that much wrong with them so my clients will be pleased - and that makes me happy too.

6 Oct
Wow - you should have seen this $6million house I inspected today. It was enormous. But I don't think my client is going be too happy with the report. In fact, he's going to be downright shocked but I better not say why just yet.

29 Aug
You should have seen this house I inspected in Balmain today. The owner had meticulously patched the cracks in the exterior walls and painted them to try and fool people - what a crook. At least he couldn't hide the floors that had subsided. And when I showed the agent he just couldn't care less!!

18 July
Today I inspected three houses in the inner west. One had rising damp, one had a sagging roof and one had termite damage. All had been freshly painted and presented in pristine condition. I really hope no-one gets fooled by that because they'll get a terrible shock when they find out those problems.

7 March
I inspected a very very very very very expensive house today in a suburb I better not name. Don't tell anyone but it had t-t-t-t-termites.

20 February
The house today in Hurlstone Park was just lovely. It had heaps of charm and all the usual defects that I normally find in old houses. That is, until I went into the back yard and saw these enormous sandstone retaining walls that were about to collapse. Big bucks to repair those!!

7 February
I've been too wet to write anything lately. But today the sun was shining and I feel terrific again. And it looks like the property market hasn't suffered from the wet weather. An inspection I did in Queens Park during the open for inspection was teeming with people. The market sure is hot - in the eastern suburbs at least!!

23 January
Wow, was it wet today. I know we need the rain but wet weather is horrible for building inspectors. I got wet and cold at 8.00 this morning and stayed that way until I got back to the office at 5.30 in the afternoon. And do you think I got any sympathy from Leone? NO WAY!!

7 January
I inspected a unit in Tamarama today. It was just beautiful on the inside but boy, did the outside of the building need some work!! I guess that's the price you pay if you want to live close to the beach. Pity the Owners Corporation didn't do a bit more maintenance on the building over the years because now its going to cost them a bomb.

24 December
I saw a lovely unit in Billyard Avenue, Elizabeth Bay today - right opposite Boomerang, you know, that beautiful pile of a house that Lindsay Fox owns. While I waited for the agent I tried to get a glimpse of the it but couldn't see much because it's behind an enormous wall. Wow, I'd love to inspect that but it would probably take the best part of a month.

18 December
It seems I've spent all week in Rozelle and Balmain. What's happening in those suburbs? They're certainly in demand that's for sure. I guess they're close to the city, have a village atmosphere and still affordable (sort of). I like Victorian houses and I tell my clients that if they like them too, then expect a bit of rising damp and termites because it goes with the territory, OK?

14 November
The property market seems to be on the boil. I inspected a dilapidated run down house in Botany today and there at least 10 people looking at it while I was there. It was in such bad condition that it's a toss up whether it's cheaper to demolish or restore but there were a lot of interested parties wondering around.

7 November
We're getting a spate of horrible houses lately. A great big good looking house in Eastwood today had dangerous wiring, corroded plumbing, a weak roof and floors that sloped out of level. It looked terrific from the outside but I got a shock when I went through it. The buyers might get a shock too when they read my report.

12 October
Oh no!! Termite damage again. This time in a beautiful two storey house in Killara. The buyer rang me and was devastated when I told her. Then her husband called and he was so disappointed. Better they find out before they buy the house than after. Imagine how disappointed they'd be then.

26 September
A nice young couple met me at a house in Balmain today. They were very excited about it until I found termite damage in the floors. I told them I hope there's no damage in the roof, but unfortunately.....there was. They were very upset but I told them they would have been more upset if they had found the termites after they bought the house wouldn't they? Yes!!

17 August
I spent most of the day on the north shore looking at beautiful mansions.  What a pleasure that was - no termites, no rising damp, no rusted iron roofs. One of the houses had a fantastic pool into which I was really tempted to dive but I resisted.

13 August
Thank goodness it's the weekend. My last inspection today was in Newtown which means rising damp, termites and a rusted iron roof. And that's exactly what this house had. No surprises there. Have a good one.

11 July
Wow! You should have seen this beautiful house in Double Bay. It was 90 years old but unbelievably well maintained. I couldn't find a thing wrong with it - big bucks here.

4 July
I could still smell the paint in the house I inspected today in Maroubra it was so recently done. And then I realised why. When I went up through the manhole into the roof there were great big gapping holes through the tiles that will cost $15,000 to replace. Don't bother trying to hide stuff from me thank you very much.

27 June
The owner of a house in Balmain said we wouldn't find any termites on her property because she had it spayed every year. She showed us the certificate which was for roaches and we didn't have the heart to tell her it was termites we were worried about. She was lucky- there was none there. And no roaches either.

22 March
A client who we inspected a house for in Clovelly rang to tell me the agent had bad mouthed us. I told him it was the highest form of flattery.

13 March
You should have seen the termite damage our pest inspector found in a beautiful $2m house in Mosman. He told the owner because the termites were live and continuing to do damage. She almost had a heart attack.

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