2,377 reviews
Engaged Aaron from Jim’s building inspections Gawler SA for a pre purchase inspection and was extremely happy with his professionalism, thoroughness and turnaround timeframe for the report. He was more than happy to chat and explain everything so we understand clearly. Will recommend him for sure
We used Gordan Xue and glad we did. He was able to identify defects that we were concerned about and also defects that we didnt even realise were defects. He was also asked to attend our NCAT hearing and when put to the test was able to answer all questions and explain his findings in a professional and non judgemental way. We were very impressed with his services and expertise in all proceedings.
Excellent service and communication by Eddy from Box Hill branch. He understood the request and he went above and beyond to help me compete the inspection. Friendly and will definitely use this service again in the future.
Reviews with attachments
John Ivanhoe is Highly professional. We highly recommend John for Building inspections Show reply
Excellent service – Dean was so accommodating and fitting us in a short notice for a building and pest inspection. He was in contact with us immediately after completion so that we understood some details on the report. I would definitely recommend Dean. 5 stars for customer service 5 stars for availability 5 stars for affordability. Show reply
Building & Pest Inspection - Troy – I recently had the pleasure of working with Troy for our building and pest inspection, and I couldn't be more impressed. Troy's attention to detail and thorough explanations made us feel confident and informed about our decision to buy our house. He went above and beyond to ensure we understood every aspect of the inspection, addressing all our… Read more · 1
concerns and providing invaluable insights. Thanks to Troy, we are more certain than ever that we are making the right choice. Highly recommend!
Fast and efficient! – We secured Phil for a building and pest inspection for the purchase of our new home in Maleny, we were grateful he had the availability to squeeze us in within such a short timeframe. Phil was friendly, professional and thorough and communicated with us before, throughout and after the process. He provided us with feedback on the spot, which… Read more
put our minds at ease. The turnaround time from the inspection to receiving our report was really fast (within a few hours). Very impressed and happy with the service. HIGHLY recommend.
Jason at Jim's Belgrave was a superstar – Jason at Jim's building inspections Belgrave was a superstar. He was incredibly quick and responsive after requesting a quote, followed up after the building inspection with clear info on the phone and provided a thorough building report. 100% recommend. Show reply
- +4
I engaged this company for a home inspection, expecting visible defects or areas of concern to be identified so I could make informed decisions before settlement. Several obvious issues—such as missing grout beneath the shower rail and a pinhole leak in the laundry sink—were not reported. These were visible and did not require specialist… Read more
qualifications to notice.
When I raised these concerns after moving in, the company became defensive and dismissive rather than addressing the issues or providing helpful guidance. While the inspection followed industry standards, I felt the service lacked thoroughness, and the way my concerns were handled was frustrating and unprofessional.
Because of this, I cannot recommend their services. Potential clients should be aware of the limitations of the inspection and carefully review what is included in the Pre-Inspection Agreement.
- +5
Firstly, i am not a builder, I'm far from it. So you do what you think is right and get a "professional" to give you the right advice prior to buying a property. To say using Jims Penrith was a mistake would be a massive understatement. Missed MAJOR house issues resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars of works but no care from head… Read more
office, franchisee or franchisor. Complaint resolution is a joke. JIMS "work guarantee " is non existent despite being advertised on their website. So everyone is aware, the process if there is issues is for the person that did he report to come out and review again. This review was done in less than 10 minutes and came back backing his report despite the mountain of issues I provided, conveniently also excluding half the issues in his response. One of our main issues was with the roof, you would think the franchisee would bring a ladder, nope... maybe review some of the issues in depth, nope.
Part of the walk around for the revisit [Name Removed] continued to check for moisture in he damaged wall which i continued to tell him wont exist as we have had 5 commercial dehumidifiers in the area for 3+ weeks prior to his visit, in one ear out the other, continued to check moisture.
Franchisor isn't actually Jim's too, this one is franchised out by someone else, this franchisor hasn't contacted me once in regards to the claim. He did contact my wife after she repeatedly called him at the start of the complaint process. His deminer and total disregard towards my wife showed no empathy of the situation and did his best to make her feel stupid.
We purchased the house in June, since Mid June we haven't been able to live in the house its now almost October. But for Jims, the franchisee [Name Removed] stands by their report as having NO issues. Here's a few of the missed items, let me preface here, there is not one major fault OR one major safety issue in the Jim's report purchased, also he advises that he couldn't inspect the roof BUT makes comments on the roof(copy and paste maybe, you decide). As you will see from some of the photos taken from the ground, you can see issues immediately if the inspector looked up... this is also a small sample of the issues now discovered.
- no gutters not a major issue for jims - deck dangerous, safety concerns including using lattice as a fence to stop a 5m+ fall, no an issue for jims - no weep holes - not an issue for jims - no drainage on the balcony that the roof above spills 50% of the surface area of the house, apparently not a major issue - Water showing in the bathrooms, no investigation done in surrounding areas, where dampness was wasn't even where the issues actually were..poor checking, makes the report not even fit for purpose - safety rails non existent - no issue for jims - exposed metal from concrete on the balcony is rusting, concrete cancer risk, no issues for Jims!
Again this is only a small sample of the actual issues now detected
This report, this company please do yourself a favour and avoid at all costs
False and misleading representations made - jims work guarantee" Jim's Group offers two main "work guarantees": the Jim's Work Guarantee for customers, which ensures unsatisfactory jobs will be fixed, potentially with an independent expert, at the company's expense" - not followed, not even offered. Jim himself didn't even know about it when questioned.(will be reporting this to the relevant government agency)
2nd false and misleading representation made, building inspector is showing a NSW licence that's expired in January 2021. I assumed like most would that if the building inspector is using a licence in his document it would be current. This is apparently normal practice (confirmed by the franchisor), so please check before you buy. Again will be reported to relevant government agency to see what they think about this.
You will be ignored, you will be fobbed off, you will be treated like a fool. I trusted the Jim's name, the jims marketing and the Jim's franchisee, fool on me, never again. I will be 100% taking further action and also make sure every person i can knows how this company treats customers trusting them when buying the biggest purchase of most people's lives.
Please do yourself a favour and go elsewhere. Jims is perfectly OK with hundreds of thousands of dollars of issues being missed and remember the building inspector also backed up his work in the revisit.
**before you send the normal reply Jims, no, I am not calling or contacting you about this, maybe actually contact me for a change
Hi Aaron Respectfully we dispute this… Read more (+2 replies)
Latest follow-ups
Coming up to the end of the builders warranty we opted to hire a professional service for peace of mind. We were assigned Jason for this area/region.… Read more · 1
Jason gave outstanding service from point of contact up to the final detailed report. We highly recommend Jason’s services for several reasons; professionalism , promptness, ensuring our understanding ,an excellent report layout and the overall experience and treatment we received as clients. We highly recommend his services and would use again if needed. .
Follow-up · The report highlighted potential not definite defects in the home, there were several minor issues and one clear defect. The internal roof area picked up on some concerns with the ducted air system, with our age this would not have been identified with this service.. Upon supplier inspection there will be changes made. The report cost was $520, which in our case has proofed to be worth the spend.
Follow-up · I should have mentioned the builders willingness to tidy compliment items that were mentioned as a sign of goodwill.
Don't trust Jim's Building inspections! I had them over to do the building inspection for us in August during our cooling off period, but they didn't inspect the property in detail. They didn't check the three bathrooms vanity areas, and didn't… Read more
notice or tell us there are significant leaking in all three bathrooms! Now that the property is settled, and we only discovered that now, we cannot go to the previous owner for any compensation, which has resulted in a huge loss on us!! I have reached out to them for explanations, but of course, they say they did everything right...We chose Jim's, because when doing our research online, we found other people gave them 4-5 stars, and therefore considered them as reliable. However, the fact turned out to be totally worst (I think when choosing an inspector, we need to look at those negative reviews, not just the positive ones) If you want a reliable building inspection, go somewhere else!
Follow-up · Was around 40 mins Cost was just their standard cost The report was just showing some very basic things that you can see from any standard building report
Hi MMH we are sorry to hear you were… Read more (+1 reply)
Find out how Jim's Building Inspections compares to other Home Inspection Companies
Know better, choose better.
‼️WARNING‼️ ⚠️ Homeowners BEWARE of [Name Removed] (from Jim’s Building Inspections) – Save your time, money and your sanity! I hired [Name Removed] from Jim’s Building Inspections for two stages of my build – slab inspection and frame + Roof… Read more
inspection – and both experiences were nothing short of a nightmare.
Here’s why you should avoid him at all costs:
RUSHED AND CARELESS INSPECTION The latest inspections was done in under 45 minutes. For a job involving critical structural elements of a home, this is completely unacceptable. Despite of me always being very respectful and paying [Name Removed] on the day of inspection both times - it felt like he was in a hurry to get in, take a hundred photos, and get out. [Name Removed] has definitely taken advantage of my respectful and professional nature.
REPORTS DELAYED BY WEEKS – DESPITE PROMISES [Name Removed] promised the reports within 24 hours. I had to chase repeatedly for TWO WEEKS before finally receiving them - both times. Imagine paying Jim’s for peace of mind and ending up stressed and frustrated instead.
❌ INCOMPLETE AND SUBSTANDARD REPORTS The reports missed several obvious defects that any competent inspector should have picked up. This completely defeats the purpose of hiring an “independent” building inspector to protect your investment.
ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY FROM JIM’S HEAD OFFICE When I raised these issues with Jim’s Head Office, I received absolutely NO assistance, not even a phone call. Clearly, customer service and quality control mean nothing to them once they’ve got your money.
BOTTOM LINE: Building a home is already a stressful experience. Don’t waste your time, money and sanity with JIM’S. [Name Removed] is yet another greedy operator who delivers the bare minimum (if that!) and disappears once paid.
If I could give ZERO stars, I would
Follow-up · Absolutely no care or responsibility from Jim’s or Gordon. I have lodged a complaint with Fair Trading.
In-depth reviews
My husband and I recently engaged Peter Phokos from Jim’s Building Inspections for a building and pest inspection and honestly we could not have been more impressed. Peter was incredibly professional, thorough and responsive from start to finish. We were hoping to move quickly with putting forward an offer on the property and Peter genuinely went… Read more · 1
above and beyond to accommodate that. He arranged to attend the property promptly and had the full report turned around to us by 9:00am the following morning, which was incredibly appreciated.
The level of detail in the report gave us real confidence that every aspect of the property had been carefully assessed. Peter also took the time to speak with us and answer questions in a way that was practical, honest and easy to understand.
Ultimately, we decided not to proceed with the property, however Peter’s report and guidance were invaluable in helping us make an informed and confident decision.
I genuinely don’t think we’ll use anyone else again and we would both highly recommend Peter to anyone looking for a trustworthy, responsive and meticulous building inspector.
I cannot recommend Daniel highly enough as a building inspector. Daniel inspected 3 properties for me, and on every occasion his work was meticulous, thorough, and incredibly detailed. He didn’t miss a thing. What truly set him apart was his ability to identify serious issues that were not disclosed in the existing building reports, ensuring I… Read more · 1
had the full picture before making any decisions.
One property in particular had defects so significant that Daniel strongly advised me not to proceed with the purchase. In hindsight, that advice alone saved me at least $50k in potential repairs, an outcome that speaks volumes about his integrity and commitment to his clients’ best interests.
After each inspection, Daniel took the time to call and explain his findings clearly, then followed up with comprehensive written reports, detailed notes, and clear photographs to support everything he identified. His communication was excellent, and I always felt informed and confident moving forward.
Daniel’s professionalism, attention to detail, and honesty made an enormous difference in my property journey. If you want an inspector who is diligent, trustworthy, and genuinely thorough, Daniel is exactly who you want!!
I had a building inspector come to do a building and pest inspection on a house I'm selling. It was [Name Removed] from Inverloch/Philip Island in Victoria. In his report he took many pictures of the ugliest parts of the house like underneath the house, to make it look like there were more issues than there was. He took pictures of a tangled… Read more
mess of wires under the house that were obviously old disused telephone wires and an antenna wire and said it could potentially be dangerous and is a safety risk.
He said there was debris in the gutters which there was none when I looked into them myself, nothing that would prevent water flow. He said he couldn't survey the rear side of the house due to a locked gate. It wasn't locked. Just a chain needed to be raised off a nail.
He said that the wall coverings such as plasterboard and wood board were considered obstructions to getting into the walls to observe them and requested that the the plasterboard and wood panelling be removed for access.
He made assumptions about big portions of the main house that were constructed back in the 1960s-1970s and said that he had suspicions that they were constructed without a building permit. It wasn't mandatory to have building permits in those days for small alterations.
Basically he made so many assumptions in his report about asbestos and "major structural issues", when he didn't check anything factual, just a whole lot of referrals to other "building area-specific experts" who are more specific in their field such as engineers, plumbers, electricians and pest professionals who are separate to him, meaning more costs for the potential purchaser.
Anyway he cost me a purchaser due to his over dramatic perception of the house I am selling. His report wasn't worth the paper it was written on. He came across as lazy and deceptive given the issues I have with him listed above.
Well one day I was at the house fixing a few things to stop any further water from going under the house.......and who turned up? [Name Removed] from Jim's. I found out he was there doing an inspection for the next purchaser too but he just used his previous report for the first purchaser and added to that second report, the section of the house he thought was locked and that he thought he couldn't get to.
He was there for only 10 minutes, so he was ripping the second purchaser off by borrowing 95% of information off from his previous report but charging his new client for a full building and pest inspection for $770.
Since the first initial report, there had been further works completed on the property to fix up and rectify many of the issues he stated were present in his first report.
I wouldn't recommend anyone use [Name Removed] for anything. He lies and says he is qualified to make assumptions.
Hi Carlton123, Thank you for taking… Read more
Recent reviews
Ash Roscoe (SandyBay) was a true professional to deal with. Thorough; detailed Building Inspection Report (with photos) and on contact; was friendly and explained his findings and my concerns in detail. I believe Ash to be a professional who operates from a place of trust and takes pride in his work. I would highly recommend his service. Show reply
Mr Jamie Daou, thank you so much for doing very professional building inspection at our property. The report was detailed, well-structured, and delivered promptly. We appreciated the honest feedback and attention to detail. You have explained everything clearly and made the whole process stress-free. Highly recommended. Show reply
Mark was friendly, courteous and a Professional. He took time to explain the e2e Testing process and recommend another professional who could collect the Hazmat and dispose it responsibly. I highly recommend Mark for this service Show reply
We recently had dealings with PETER PHOKOS regarding a defective kitchen cabinetry by a external cabinet maker. He provided a detailed and professional report in a timely manner. Peter was great to deal with and has a deep knowledge of his subject. PEter is honest, ethical and fair and was amazing to deal with. Show reply
Peter did the building inspection for my investment property. He did an outstanding job and went beyond what I was expecting. As I am interstate, he checked out everything in so much detail and did not just focus on the typical inspection criteria. That level of service is usually hard to find! Show reply
Find out how Jim's Building Inspections compares to other Home Inspection Companies
Know better, choose better.
Biggest thanks To JAY MEIERS our building inspector from Jims! He did a very good job! Outstanding! He definitely has the eyes for it. We are glad we took the service otherwise there’s no way we’d see those faults in our new home! Hire him you are in good hands! Reports very well presented. He is very efficient and professional.. Thanks Jay ☺️ Show reply
Lasting buildings was extremely thorough with my pre excisting building and pest inspection. Extremely detailed report. Will use again when needed and will pass on details to people in need. Thank you. Show reply
I recently used Jim's Building Inspections - Tom Simovic not only was he professional, but on time and kept in constant communication with me. Tom was very thorough with his inspection. I would high recommend Tom for all inspections. Show reply
Very strict and detailed inspection. Very happy with the report. I have compared with other reports and have to say he does check every corner and nook of the building. Not very happy to know that the house you are getting has lots of defects, but that's his job to find every bits of defect, and he does it good. Thank you and one last things I wanted say was he was kind enough for not charging us when the builder was not ready during booking Show reply
I engaged Amit from Jim's building inspection Melbourne for a property inspection, however my experience with the service was very disappointing. There was lac o commitment to the agreed inspection time frame and communication was poor after the payment was made. Although the inspection report was expected before the agreed sales deadline, it was… Read more
delivered only after the deadline had already passed and that also after multiple follow up and calls. This delay created unnecessary stress during the process. Given the delay and the overall experience, i am also uncertain about the thoroughness and quality of the inspection itself. Overall, i wont recommend this service based on my experience.
I am sorry to hear you were unhappy… Read more
Dudley from duncraig Jim’s inspections went above and beyond for our home and pest inspections. Great attention to detail and excellent communication. So refreshing to see someone so genuinely great and passionate for their job. Show reply
Mr Birendra J Bhandari, thank you so much for doing very professional building inspection at our property. You are Professional, punctual, and highly knowledgeable. The report was detailed, well-structured, and delivered promptly. We appreciated the honest feedback and attention to detail. You have explained everything clearly and made the whole process stress-free. Highly recommended. Thank you Show reply
Jas from Hornsby is amazing! He did the most thorough, easy to understand pre-purchase building and pest report for me - efficient, prompt with zero drama. He also took loads of photos for me - which was very welcome. The whole thing was completely painless- he even organized access to the property through the realtor. I'm absolutely thrilled and highly recommend him. Show reply
ProductReview.com.au has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence our content moderation policies in any way, though ProductReview.com.au may earn commissions for products/services purchased via affiliate links.
Hi Rebecca, Were sorry to hear your… Read more