Do I need a builder's report as the seller?

There is no requirement

Nothing obliges you to commission a building inspection before you sell. A building report on a residential sale is usually ordered by the buyer, either as a condition of their offer or before they bid at an auction.

A report you commission yourself is sometimes called a vendor's report or a pre sale inspection. It is optional, and it is your copy.

What getting one early changes

• It removes surprises. A problem found in week one is something you can fix, quote or explain. The same problem found by a buyer's inspector three days before an auction usually costs you either the buyer or the price.
• It helps buyers bid unconditionally. Where the property is going to auction, every buyer has to do their homework before the day. A report available to all of them lowers what it costs each buyer to get to auction day. Some will still want their own, and that is normal.
• It gives you a repair list. A report tells you what a professional actually writes down, which is a better basis for deciding what to fix than walking around the house guessing.
• It creates knowledge you then have to share. Once you know about a defect, it is a known defect. Under rule 10.7 of the Client Care Rules your agent must disclose known defects to a buyer, and under rule 10.8 they must stop acting for you if you direct them to withhold it. That is not a reason to avoid a report. It is the consequence of having one, and it is worth understanding before you order it.

What it costs and what it covers

The cost depends on the size and age of the house, whether the roof space and subfloor can be accessed, and the inspector. Before you book, ask what standard the report is written to, and whether it includes the roof, the subfloor and moisture readings.

A building report is not a LIM and it is not a valuation. It describes the physical condition of the building. Council records, consents and hazards sit in the LIM. Price sits in an appraisal, or in a valuation from a registered valuer.

Where it genuinely earns its cost

An older house, cladding of a type prone to weathertightness problems, work done by a previous owner that you cannot document, or anything where the history is unknown to you. Those are the cases where a report before the campaign is worth it. Where the house is recent, consented and well documented, the buyer's own report is usually enough.