Before You Buy

Before you Buy is a professional and effective service. A good tool and investment for conducting due diligence on a proposed property purchase. Consultant Lisa provides excellent, thorough and reliable service.

Very disappointing experience. These building reports are extremely light, generic and feel rushed, with vague copy-paste comments and endless disclaimers instead of real analysis. You pay expecting professional advice before one of the biggest purchases of your life, but you receive a document with very little practical value and almost no… Read more

accountability. As many other reviews mention, communication is poor, answers are vague, additional costs appear later, and everything seems designed to protect the company rather than help the buyer. Under the pressure and stress of buying a property, many buyers simply trust and pay without realising how superficial these reports are. Honestly, I also question why so many real estate agents keep pushing buyers toward these services. It certainly does not feel like the buyer’s interests come first. The smartest thing is to pay an experienced independent builder for a real inspection. At least you will get honest, useful advice for your money.

Paid for an expensive report which they state 2-4 business days. Day 5 now and they havent even booked to inspect the property until day 6. Will be outside of NSW cooling off period now so we may miss out on buying property and lose our 0.25% deposit. When we rang to enquire on the phone the man we spoke to was incredibly rude for no reason and… Read more

spoke over the top of me so i couldnt even ask a question. I am going to raise a complaint with fair trading.

Product Review of BYB * Confusing to deal with – a BYB report is not a ‘BYB report’. BYB only takes ‘leads’ and sends them onto a Strata Report writer. Staff of both BYB and ‘inspectors’ are hard to get hold of. The ‘inspector’ of my report was… Read more

only found by a lot of searching. His number is silent.

* “Cut and paste” jigsaw – Records from a Strata Company are selected without context, snapshots of situations give a wrong impression unless qualified. Obsolete tenders are shown, which only provide fears that work is being neglected. The reports lack competence and thoroughness.

* No quality control. The ‘BYB report’ for my unit was misleading, superficial and inaccurate. I had to buy the report, and then became my own quality control.

* BYB Report scared buyers. One person gave a seven-point detailed document to my real estate agent about why they wouldn’t buy my unit, based on the misleading ‘BYB report’.

* Vendors are asked by their real estate agent to buy ‘BYB report’, saying it would sell their property faster. My experience was the opposite. I bought a report. Now, will have to pay more if the successful buyer gets a BYB report. I should not have to buy it and then try to fix it.

* AI involvement. I spoke to the Strata Report writer, who used ChatGTP to write an ‘Executive Summary’. A summary should only have the most important items. In our case, with cracking in the building, the summary foregrounded this fact. It made no mention that the cracking is normal for older buildings, being settlement or hair-line cracks etc. The summary should have put minds at rest, but instead raised fears.

Asking for accuracy. I asked the writer to add the truth - what engineers had found, minor cracking, typical etc. But the report writer then added minor facts, which negated the ‘minor cracking’. His new ‘Executive Summary’ is an act of retaliation. It now reads as a subtle criticism that Strata took the cracking issue no further but the issue was resolved at an AGM, which he never mentioned.

* Who to complain to – you think you are dealing with BYB but you are being forwarded to the Strata Report writer. Only the independent report writer can change reports – but they don’t want be relevant in their ‘accuracy’. Bits and pieces of information without context can be damaging.

* Clipping tickets. BYB obtains money from whoever it can, purchase, vendor …

BYB has cost me intending purchasers. Cost me financially and time-wise, trying to fix the misleading and inaccurate report. Poor product. Go elsewhere.

Poolie

Hi Product Review - I had to buy the report through real estate agent, don't have any bank records saying BYB. The photo below is of the report on my computer - I do have an email but don't know how to send it to you.

There service is an absolute no brainer..recently sold my property utilising their services along the way, easy for all concerned to have peace of mind when buying my property, which means for a happy vendor and purchaser, so thank you team!! Reuben 10/10 Show reply

I always thought BeforeyouBuy" is such a great company name in this industry! Anyone looking to buy/sell a home should do their due diligence with this company. My experience was just as wonderful as the name suggests. My home hunt was not so great, but this company's service will remain one of the most enjoyable memories of my time in the past… Read more ·  1

few months!! The customer service team is very thorough in explaining your order and what to expect in each stage, making the process much more manageable when buying a home. Lisa and Abanub, your exceptional expertise has been a truly unforgettable experience, bringing the best possible outcome, that is why you want to believe in people.. Thank you so much. You might wonder why, because it is just what I believe, the most important thing to me was that someone was trying to help, and this team demonstrated that. And, it's hard to expect more from them than they can do, since their work is also dependent on the schedules of other organizations. Therefore, results may vary.

In my case, they went above and beyond what I asked for to help me with my order, and thankfully, the results were excellent. I will definitely use Before You Buy services again when I need it. Thank you so much for your kind help. Have a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Lee

BYB organised a Building and Pest Inspection Report on our property super quickly. I'm sure it helped prospective purchasers to make decisions and also gave them something to provide to lenders if they needed to without having to go to the trouble of organising it themselves. The $200 refund was also very welcome.

Essentially, you need a report to purchase. It’d be st^pid not to. God forbid you have to before these incompetent fools. Ask a few questions about the report, to the person who pulled it together; nope. Can’t answer that. Need to ask the strata mangers… wait a week, don’t get a single response. The customer service folks are amazingly considerate and polite but reporters like S.M. Are hopeless Show details

I purchased a building report though Before you Buy and it was a very poor document. Not only did it get the street address of the property wrong, but basic facts about the house, and missed several areas of real concern which our private building inspector picked up. Of a 22 page report 11 pages were generic information and disclaimers. Very… Read more

little useful information. When i complained to BYB they told me to contact the writer of the report. I don’t know what BYB actually do because they don’t take responsibility for the product they sell. Avoid and get your own report with an experienced building inspector.

Glorified Scammers! My experience with Before You Buy was extremely disappointing and distressing. The strata report I received did not meet my expectations in terms of clarity, depth or meaningful analysis. I raised concerns with the company. Rather than addressing those concerns constructively, the response I received escalated the situation.… Read more

Following my complaint, I was informed that unless I withdrew my complaint, additional charges could be applied in connection with what they described as a “second charge” to my card. I found this communication deeply concerning. I believe I should not have been placed in a position where further financial charges were implied or referenced in response to a complaint. The tone of the correspondence felt intimidating, bullying and pressure-based rather than solution-oriented. Instead of resolving the matter fairly, I was left threatened amd bullied. Because of this experience, I will be lodging a formal complaint with the appropriate consumer authorities and Ombudsman. I believe customers should be able to raise concerns about paid services without fear of financial pressure or escalation. I strongly encourage anyone considering this company NOT to use them.

Incomplete / misleading report, Defects section of the report had nil defects listed. NSW Building Commissioner's had a work order on so many defects, Building has been in the media for years. DO NOT use them. either negligent and / or deliberately withed information. not helpful, besides complaining and specifically asking multiple times, they just were not willing to help and wanted more money. Report Author: [Content Removed]

I noticed a transaction they charged me for. When I asked, they said I was the successful buyer, which I was not. I also didn’t know they would charge me if I bought the property after purchasing the strata report. Their policy and terms & conditions were unclear. Additionally, they mistakenly charged me $232 and did not apologise for the error. I had to make several calls and send follow‑up emails to get my money back.

I wouldn’t even give this agency one star, and I strongly advise others to avoid using their services. They initially stated that the only fee payable would be $59. However, buried in their terms and conditions, they mention that if you successfully purchase the property, they will deduct an additional $345. In my case, I conducted my own private… Read more

inspection and did not use their service at all. Despite this, they still deducted the $345 without any prior notice. When I contacted their team to explain the situation, I was dismissively told that I “should have read the terms and conditions properly.”

There is no refund, no proper customer support, and their staff are extremely rude when you question them. Overall, this experience has been misleading, unfair, and unprofessional. I do not recommend this agency to anyone.

This review concerns receiving an email stating that I was the successful buyer for a property and that the successful buyer fee would be charged to my credit card. I was not the successful buyer for the property in question; although I had purchased the initial strata report, I had not purchased the property and, therefore, I was not liable for… Read more

the additional successful buyer fee. I emailed BYB and explained this, but the response was, 'We can see that you did purchase this property as per property sale documents.' Again, this was incorrect (we had bought a different property and paid the successful buyer's fee for that one). I decided to contact the selling agent, who confirmed that I was not the successful buyer for the property in question, and that he had informed BYB of this *on the previous day*. The selling agent kindly contacted BYB again and received an apology for 'an admin error and we had accidentally nominated the incorrect successful buyer for this property'. However, I have received no apology for the distress and harassment BYB caused me. I will never buy a strata report from BYB again, and I hope my review here helps to discourage others from using this incompetent service.

I have ordered (strata) reports through BYB and other inspectors. While BYB tend to be quicker, the ability to contact the inspector is VASTLY diminished - in fact BYB cannot guarantee that a strata inspector will in fact be contactable and as a result much of the reports are in fact NOT actionable if there are any issues or questions that are… Read more

raised. I have never had any of my initiated follow ups to the BYB reports answered so would suggest this makes the service pretty poor. Of course BYB will claim they have no responsibility but then will do nothing to ensure that the inspectors that don't answer follow ups are either not used again or prompted to respond. Keep this also in mind - I have been informed by solicitors that if you order a report through BYB that has been offered via the real estate agency that any issues that arise post purchase cannot be legally acted on against the inspector due to this nature of BYB offering via a real estate agent - ie the inspector cannot be held accountable.

Provided incomplete report. Then wouldn't follow up with requested documents with the strata. Vetting on the platform seems to be designed for seller not buyer. Leaving out vital documents. Key for a buyer to be aware of. Though definitely what sellers want omitted. Had to get another independent report paying twice. Can't Recommended. I would… Read more

suggest contacting your solicitor and using a vetted provider that way.

If you do use this service before, check the reporter a) has a contact legit email b) the company they by work for is real (has a website is a good start) c) walk away if you have to pay full price up front.

I purchased a pre-purchase building report from Before You Buy Pty Ltd for a property I was considering to buy on someone else's behalf. I paid upfront fee and agreed to to pay an additional $300 if I were to purchase the property- which is i consider at settlement date. I agreed to this before seeing the report, expecting a thorough and reliable… Read more

inspection. The report did not highlight any critical issues, which was a good news. However, remaining payment was just charged from my credit card immediately after contract was exchanged, weeks before the settlement date when i consider the purchase is done. They have refused to refund the second payment until the settlement date. I was originally offered complementary assistance with arranging energy and internet service installation, booked an appointment, but no one called. So, my advice to all is not to give a credit card number to these people who can just charge you bills as they are pleased. They should appreciate people who actually choose to pay their second payment fee at all. I do not recommend using services of this company.

I purchased a pre-purchase building and pest report from Before You Buy Pty Ltd for a property I was considering. I paid $69 upfront and was informed that I would need to pay an additional $545 if I were to purchase the property. I agreed to this before seeing the report, expecting a thorough and reliable inspection. When I accessed the report, I… Read more

was highly disappointed. It failed to provide a clear conclusion on the most critical issue, active termite activity. Instead, it only listed obvious, visible matters I could have identified myself just by walking through the property. There was nothing of real value in the report, making it essentially a waste of money.

Despite my complaints, the company refused to reduce or waive the additional $545 charge. This experience has left me feeling misled and frustrated. I would suggest that others avoid this service if they are seeking meaningful and actionable inspection results.

I purchase a $89 building report from Before You Buy ("BYB") for a residential property that I was considering buying and after successfully buying the property I was charged the agreed additional $345 to acquire ownership of the report. The letter of ownership was not received so I followed up BYB. BYB admin advised the inspector, Gary, to… Read more

provide the report. There was no response from Gary, so I followed up admin again with the same outcome, being no action from Gary. I then contacted the real estate agent and he followed up BYB admin, which resulted in action and receipt of the letter. The matter took 3 weeks to resolve.

The need for several follow ups was frustrating however the complete lack of response from Gary (for example, I'm really busy but will get the report to you next week) and the lack of any excuse/apology indicates customer service is a low priority for BYB.

I had a really good experience with a quick inspection and a same day report that detailed exactly what I would need to address if I bought the property. I'll definitely be using them again. The only negative was with longer sentences overlapping the pictures, sometimes the sentences cut short. I still got the gist of it so it was all quite useful. Thank you before you buy! Show reply

I had requested a 2nd Building & Pest Report for14/17 Busaco Rd Marsfield 2122 on the 16/7, as there wasn't readymade access on the 14/7 to the 2nd Bedroom & Garage Areas, but due to various circumstances I Cancelled that Visitation ( Via Phone Calls & Email 19/7) which was to occur on the 21/7 .I was advised on the 24/7 that they had processed… Read more

my Refund on the 24/7 for $215-10 , but as at 9/8 -16 Days Later I still haven't received the Refund to my M/Card A/C , which is Very Poor Service , as they are Extremely Quick to Debit your A/C , but much Different for the Refund!!!

It was the worst possible day weather wise to move but these 3 guys fast professional and work there butterfly off moving our furniture and other goods into our new place they were on time could not reccommmend them more highly cheaper than the rest need movers get the best on time removals