Toshi spent $3,000 on building inspections house hunting in Melbourne. Should sellers cover the cost?

A building inspection typically costs between $500 and $700, an expert says, and research shows almost half of buyers pay for multiple inspections while searching. Photograph: jax10289/Getty Images/iStockphoto

When Toshi began the search for her first home in Melbourne, she had spent years saving for the deposit and even had a small buffer for unexpected costs. What she didn’t expect was to spend more than $3,000 on building and pest inspections before she’d even bought a place.

“To be honest, I never thought it was going to be that expensive,” she says.