Are New Construction Home Inspections Necessary?
The short answer is Yes! Everyone knows that you should have a home you are buying inspected to ensure you know the ins, outs, good and bad of your home. When it comes to new construction though it’s not always as clear on whether you need an inspection since your new home is built to the newest codes, has been inspected by the builder, city and possibly the builder’s third-party inspector before you sign on the dotted line. While builders, city inspectors and other inspectors do their best to see if they notice any problems, when you hire a third-party inspector they are there to systematically review the entire house, structure and systems and could save you much more in time, stress and money in the long run.
Some of the benefits of a new construction inspection before closing are:
- Lessening Your Headaches: They will catch some problems and you won’t have to deal with them when you move into your new home. Sometimes inspectors locate clogged drains, poorly installed dishwashers, etc. that you would only find when you go to take your first shower or run your dishwasher. This is not the time to have to stop what you are doing, contact the warranty people, wait for the warranty people, have repair persons in your home in your way or tearing up things.
- You Have the Builder’s Attention: Before closing the builder is much more interested in making sure you are satisfied with your repairs than after. If you won’t sign on the new home until the repairs located by the inspector are complete the builder will insure they are handled timely and efficiently.
- Saving You Money When You Sell: If you don’t have a home inspection, the next home inspection that finds the problem will be when you are trying to sell the home, most likely your warranty will be expired, and you will be paying the bill for the repair.
Some people choose to wait for their home inspection until before the 1-year warranty expires and at the very least that should be done. If you didn’t have any other issues that you noticed during your first year you might still be wondering if you should spend the money on the inspection. You might also realize that you probably didn’t go study your HVAC units or take a walk on your roof, so you will want someone to take a look. Remember past the warranty everything that is discovered later will be on your dime to repair.
Here are some things we have seen found on new home inspections:
- Roofs severely damaged from foot traffic, etc… that needed repairs and/or replacement
- Missing HVAC ducts in rooms
- HVAC ducts that are not connected to the system therefore not providing any cooling or heat
- Clogged drains or leaking pipes
- Electrical plugs not working
- Incorrectly installed items and systems
- Areas left unpainted or unsealed
- Missing Bricks
It’s not about if you have built with a reputable builder, it’s all about what kind of day that sub-contractor was having when they put that nail in the board, installed your HVAC system or were working on your home. If they weren’t having a good day, just had a fight with spouse/boss/parent; are trying to get done earlier or just might have made a mistake then there might be a problem on your new home. Remember spending a little money to pay for an inspection on one of your largest investments could save you much more in money, time and stress in the future. Not only is it good to have a new home construction inspection, you should always have a great real estate team by your side, too. We not only have a list of preferred inspectors to provide, we are also here to help, advise and walk through the entire process with you so just give us a call!
Special thanks to Gene South of Texas Property Inspection, one of our preferred inspectors, for providing pictures seen in this post of actual things found during an inspection. If looking for more pictures or to contact Gene directly, click here.
