A building inspector was left stunned after receiving a letter from lawyers banning him from visiting a property that he had surveyed for its new purchaser.
Dressed all in black and armed with a body camera, the ‘TikTok Inspector’ meticulously zooms in on every flaw at the homes he surveys, explaining the issues.
It’s the public-facing side of 43-year-old Zeher Khalil’s Melbourne-based business, Site Inspections, which offers forensic assessments of buildings.
With a diploma in construction, Mr Khalil said he has used over a decade of experience in the industry to help hold companies and developers to account.
‘We want to reveal who these guys are ASAP,’ he told Daily Mail on Thursday.
On May 20, Mr Khalil appeared to have met his match when law firm Thomson Greer banned him on behalf of their client from a ‘luxury’ four-bedroom home in a well-heeled suburb of Melbourne.
Mr Khalil had visited the property at the request of the purchaser before they finalised payments.
‘The homeowners (were looking at) the cosmetic things and I was like, “Yes, but you have a bigger problem here”,’ he said.
‘The cladding’s falling apart. The roof is stuffed. It’s one of the worst, this job.
‘I went on the roof (and) I’m like, “man, this is so bad and there’s other units for sale. I gotta alert people about it”.’
In Site Inspections’ report, seen by this publication, Mr Khalil found 48 details in the home that were ‘non-compliant’ and listed 82 defects.
He posted a five-minute video on TikTok walking viewers through some of the most pressing issues.
This included a banister outside the property that wobbled, alleged signs of leaking in the house and loose window frames and cladding.
Throughout, viewers could hear Mr Khalil’s exclamations of ‘oh my goodness’ and ‘look at this mess’.
‘I put it there on purpose to warn people because it’s not about us getting the work, just watch what you’re buying,’ he said.
Thomson Greer issued Mr Khalil with a letter two weeks later claiming ‘unlawful entry and property damage’, which he posted on his TikTok account.
‘Your actions constitute trespass and unauthorised interference with our client’s property, both of which are actionable under law,’ it read.
‘Given your above conduct we advise that you are hereby prohibited from entering the Development Property Site in any capacity.’
If he wants to return to the property, Mr Khalil was told he would have to be granted express written permission from the relevant owner.
But he seemed unfazed by the turn of events, claiming it was a sign the group didn’t want him to check their other properties.
‘We got heaps worse. We get letters from these bigger builders,’ he said.
‘They’re like, “Remove (a video). We’re going to sue you for defamation. We’re losing contracts”.’
Mr Khalil said he won’t remove videos but has threatened companies with the suggestion he will offer free inspections to anyone using the firm and publish videos of them if legal cases are launched.
In the case of the Melbourne property, the inspector said he posted the lawyers’ letter to warn people about the company and the house.
Daily Mail has contacted Thomson Greer for comment from their client.
Mr Khalil said the purchaser, who paid him to survey the property, is holding off finalising payments for the house until Site Inspections’ issues are addressed.
‘I think he’s not gonna settle until they fix the items,’ he said.