Inspecting properties
Preparing for an inspection
What to bring, when to visit, and why more than one visit at different times reveals more than one look.
- Consumer Affairs Victoria recommends multiple visits — an initial check, then closer visits for repairs and structural concerns.
- Bring your buying brief, a measuring tool and a consistent checklist.
- Photograph with the agent's permission, and note context at the time, not from memory later.
- Avoid back-to-back inspections that leave no time to follow up on a concern.
More than one visit, at different times
Consumer Affairs Victoria recommends making several visits before buying: an initial visit to check whether basic requirements are met — location, size, age, facilities, style — and subsequent visits to look for needed repairs and structural concerns (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 29 Jul 2026). A single 15-minute open home rarely reveals noise, parking pressure, afternoon sun or evening street activity — visiting at a different time of day, and on a different day of the week, shows a different property.
What to bring
Bring your buying brief so you're checking against your own actual requirements, not reacting to how a property is staged. Bring a tape measure or measuring app for rooms and furniture you plan to keep. A due-diligence checklist helps you look for the same things consistently across every property you view, rather than being led by what the agent chooses to point out. On a second or later visit, bring a copy of the contract of sale or Section 32, and any notes or photos from an earlier visit, so you can compare what you're seeing now against what was disclosed or already observed. A second person — a friend or another trusted person — often notices something a buyer, who is emotionally invested, does not.
Photographs and permission
You may photograph the property with the agent's permission (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 29 Jul 2026) — ask at the start of the visit rather than partway through. Photographs are most useful when paired with a note of what and where, taken at the time, rather than relied on from memory afterwards.
Practical checklist
Before you go
- Bring your buying brief, a measuring tool and a checklist
- Plan the visit at a time relevant to your actual use — evening, weekend, peak traffic
- Ask the agent's permission to photograph at the start of the visit
- Leave time between inspections to act on anything that needs a second look
Questions for a professional
- Can a private inspection be arranged outside the scheduled open-home times?
- Will access be available to the roof space, subfloor, garage and any outbuildings?
- Has the vendor already commissioned a building or pest report I could see?
Official resources
Sources and methodology
- Inspect properties before you buy — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 29 Jul 2026)
Figures on this page are drawn from Delora's local knowledge graph, refreshed from these primary sources and checked for changes on a regular schedule. If a figure here looks out of date, the official source above is always the authority — please let us know.