If you’re buying a house, timing your builder’s report can be the difference between a confident purchase and a costly surprise. We sit down with Evan to get clear on when to book a pre-purchase building inspection, why “the sooner the better” is more than just a slogan, and how a bit of planning can take the pressure out of the conditional period before you go unconditional.

We dig into the real-world trade-off buyers face: do you pay for a builder’s report before you put an offer in, or wait until the offer is accepted so you don’t risk spending money for nothing? Evan walks through what typically happens once you engage an inspector, how access is arranged through the real estate agent, and why leaving it late can shrink your time to understand defects, ask questions, and negotiate properly. We also talk about how emotion can drive overpaying, and how long-term maintenance costs can catch buyers out even when the home looks fine at first glance.

A key part of the chat is report sharing and confidentiality. We cover whether agents should get the full report, why excerpts are often enough for negotiations, and why it can be smarter to share the complete builder’s report with your lawyer and let professionals handle what gets passed on. If you found this useful, subscribe, share it with a mate who’s house-hunting, and leave a review telling us: do you prefer report first or offer first?

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