Free House for Removal

FREE HOUSE? yes there are heaps of them out there! But, does a FREE house = a good one?

If you troll through Gumtree or the Trading Post (is that still around?) you can always see houses for removal listed with the magic sign “Free”.

Here are a couple of things to think about before you commit to the vendor.

• When do they need it removed by? You are still going to require a licensed house mover to carry out the move. A lot of them are booked many months in advance with their own work so may not be able to meet the time frame the Vendor wants. Current wait times are 3-6 months across south Queensland.
• What is the implication of exceeding the deadline? You have already gone through the process of getting your plans drawn up and submitted to council, but what happens if your approvals don’t come through in time? You could go to all that expense and have the Vendor demolish the house anyway, or charge you late fees for delaying their development.
• Asbestos – the majority of the houses we turn down are full of asbestos, this can be a costly exercise to rectify. Not only do you have to have a licensed Asbestos removalist, but you have the added cost of replacing the sheeting on the walls. In some cases, you could just be getting a house frame for free.
• White ant damage – this can be VERY costly, if there is white ant damage you can see, imagine how much you can’t see.
• Roof- tile or tin? in most cases, tiled roofs don’t transport, we have to ‘lay down’ the roof structure to meet strict height restrictions and it can cost just as much as a new iron roof to transport and replace the tiles.
• Is the removal achievable? – before we commit to any house, we carefully check the routes out of the surrounding streets, there are many factors that can stop a move (low power lines, protected trees, low bridges etc)

We believe a free house is not necessarily a good house, make sure you do your homework.

Give us a call before you bite off something you can’t chew, we are always happy to check out the house for you to see whether it’s suitable for removal.

We will always give you our honest opinion, even if you don’t want to hear it!