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Do I need an inspection for a new home? Builder vs Inspector

We have a number of new homes being built in our area of San Antonio Texas and surrounding hill country. Ranches are being sold and sub-divided with hundreds of homes being built. Back to the questions, the answer is yes. Hire an inspector to inspect a new home. No home is perfect, even if it is a new home. Just because it is new doesn't mean the it was built correctly. Your inspector can prepare a list of items the builder will need to complete before you close. It may take a second inspection to make sure these items were repaired. Some builders use their own inspectors but it would be best to have your own inspection.

Carl Winters, Advanced Inspector, #3630.Certified by Texas Real Estate Commission

Carl's Blogs: localism.com/neighbor/realestateinspector www.home-inspection4u.com

Since 1994 * Your Home Inspection Specialist * Serving the Texas Hill Country

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Posted by Carl & Ceil Winters Texas Hill Country Home Inspector on 07/05/2007 08:51 AM

Comments (44)

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Originally posted at: Carl Winters Blog.ActiveRain.com: Do I need an inspection for a new home? Builder vs Inspector

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44 Comments on Do I need an inspection for a new home? Builder vs Inspector

JUL

2007

Howdy Carl

You are right it is yes about a new house also needs an inspection. And to have your own inspection.

Dale: Thanks for your response. I find items that need attention in custom and track homes. I don't think these things are missed on purpose but it is better to catch these items sooner rather than later.

I find more defects in new construction than old.

In new construction my client is paying premium price and expects things to be ok.

With old many issues have had time to be identified and taken care of.

With new you have a bunch of contractors working for different companies with one guy thinking an issue will be taken care of by the next .Sometimes the issue is waiting for me to find it.

With old defects have had time to fester and give clues.

With new something left undone may not have had time to affect things.

Bob: Correct. You think because it "brand new" everything is perfect. There are many outside contractors that come in to work on the house and if they do not have a good superintendent or person that oversees the project items can be missed. This happened recently with a home my son was having built. I must say, he called in "super inspector his dad" and items were listed and fixed before he moved in. One in particular was a big item that needed attention. Thanks for your comment. I hope more people read this discussion.

JUL

2007

I agree with Bob. In todays house building industry, where a contractor has many houses going at once, there is no way to properly supervise subcontractors. The many things that go into making a house must all come together at the end. Too often things are missed or forgotten.

David

You have that right. Some of these subs hire excellent craftsmen and others take whomever they can get. I saw one the other day that didn't even know how to put tar paper down.

Just went into a gut rehab condo unit today and they were still working on the thing ,so I need to go back and see if the contractors were able to tie it all together.

I just cannot assume it will be done right as it often isn,t

Bob

Let us know how it turns out. In this business you never assume anything. Right?

Always get an inspection ,so what its new mistakes happen

JUL

2007

Margaret:

Thanks for your comment. I wish I knew thirty-five years ago about inspections when we purchased our first home. I would have had it inspected.

JUL

2007

Hi Carl..Yes I went back and found a lot still needing to be done.

All I can do is make my punch list of what should be finished and give my client a guide as to what to look for as far as a list of deficiencies goes.

Some of the common area stuff bothered me but all I can do is hope after reporting it they fix it.

The biggest problems are normally involving shortcuts.

Every one wants to save that extra buck.

Bob: Thanks for the update. I understand abut the short cuts to save a buck. These people pay good money to get the job done but greed sometimes peeks through. Why can't they do it right and go on?

if you waive the inspection then ur on your own

that being said though many new homes come with 2 year warrenty so if you find something after the fact it can be fixed

Dominick: The warrenty is good;the problem is with getting them to honor and get the items fixed. Sometimes they drag their feet.

A warrenty alway's reminds me of the life time muffler .

In other words what is covered.? They find a way to wiggle out from what I hear.

Bob: Your are so right. Sometimes people give up on trying to get them to honor the warrenty because they want you to get frustrated and give up. Most people are so busy earning a living they just don't have the time to follow up; plus all the time you have to take off from work. Now days employers are not real happy if you have to take off too much.

Sometimes it's safety issues and not the home itself. A few months ago we detected a gas leak behind the kitchen range in a brand new $850,000 home.

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Erol: It is beyond my comprehension how someone can spend $700,000 to million dollars on a home and decide not to have an inspection that will cost only a few hundred dollars. It just doesn't make sense. I find just as many things wrong with a brand new house. We just need to try to educate the public on the importance of the home inspection. Thanks for your comment.

Hi Carl,

Many don't see the value in what we do. I hear things like "GEEZ that means I would be paying you about $100 per hour to inspect the home." Do they ask their doctor's why they make $1000 per hour? Never, because they see the value in their services.

What home buyers should be thinking is: "This inspector may find life threatening issues or other serious defects in the home. It would be the best $400 I ever spent in my life."

There's the value.

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I wouldn't get a new home inspected, but then I've been marketing New homes for a decade and I'm very comfortable with the process in Wichita Kansas. I believe between the city inspectors, and the small builders (30-50 homes a year) that most things get done pretty well.

I have a REAL problem when a home inspector looks at the home before it's finished. They always write up things that are still in the works (the superficial stuff that anyone can notice), and the builder won't pass final inspection until they're done. The things that need inspection are normally in the walls, covered. Can't be seen, and Central Inspections had to sign off before walls were put up anyway.

Finally, if you have a warranty problem and the builder is "Dragging" his feet, did you do your background checks well enough to start with?

One hundred dollars an hour (I wish.)

When I got trained this was in my dreams broken shortly by reality.

Lets see now my last inspection they were still working on the condo unit so told my client give me half now and the other half in the mail as I do not feel right charging full price and will come back myself tomorrow to inspect the plumbing .$250.00 by the way.I went back the next day and inspected the plumbing but found enough wrong that I am hoping they are still working on it.

Monday I will go back to collect the other half in person so I can be there at final walk through and check progress.

Between drive time and reports how much am I making per hour.? When it is over at least 15 hours if I am lucky.Just break it down with calls and E-Mail included.

People meaning agents and clients do not know how hard we work behind the scenes doing research,and marketing for the privilege of doing the actual inspection on site.

Some people call agents professional doorknob turners for the same reason,not knowing all that goes on.

I take some complicated stuff and put it together in a easy to understand format which may make it look simple ,but behind it all we work our tails off.

This is why I get aggravated when someone attacks my profession or association.

We all exist for a reason.

Hi Bob :-)

Yes that is a little high for new construction. But for any home that is not new $400 is a very fair price for a four hour inspection, but that's another topic.

Home Inspector Chicago Suburbs

Hi Greg,

Many new homes are fine. It's whether someone is willing to pay to find out for sure. It's not much money for people that live in these expensive $$ new developments. I often find shingles installed incorrectly, wrong size nails, no insulation in the attic or insulation completely covering the soffit vents. People make mistakes. Hence the reason for inspections on new homes. Just my opinion.

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Greg: Whatever you are comfortable with, if it works for you it works for me. But if it were my new home I would get that new home inspected. My son just had a new home built with a builder with a good reputation and I was able to find some important issues that needed to be addressed. The builder was not aware of the problem.

I inspect many homes in rural areas, most people move out from the city hussle and bussle; there are no city inspectors so you have to depend on the superintendent's or builder inspector. I would spend the few hundred dollars to have peace of mind.

Better safe than sorry. Some things can be missed in error. Thanks for your comment.

I earn every cent I make. I remind myself of that every July and August when I am crawling in an attic and it is 100 plus degrees outside and much more than that in the attic. The hot blazing sun when you are on the roof or under a house and meet up with some god forsaken snake. Drive time, inspection and report writing every night until 10:30 or eleven o'clock. Cost of fuel, license and continuing education and equipment to perform our job. Yes, I earn every cent and most clients appreciate what we do. If it is a new house or pre-owned I inspect each as thorough as possible. I believe most people in our industry puts in 100% and you can not ask more than that. Amen (my sermon for Sunday)

Thats for all the great comments

Let me give a perfect example. On why you want to an inspection on new construction

I was doing a home inspection on a new home in a subdivision for an out of town client. I inspected the ceiling of each second floor room looking for the attic access and could not find one. I returned to the builder's office where they promptly doubted my assertion that there was no access. Upon returning with me the builder quickly realized no access to the attic existed. Carpenters were rushed to the home where they threw their hammers through the Drywall in the ceiling creating an access. Since there was no access, NO INSULATING HAD BEEN DONE IN THE ATTIC. Now there is a heating bill I would not want to pay.

Without a home inspection, the clients would have been unaware of this condition for some time to come. In my area, building inspectors typically do not enter attic accesses and so did not notice the lack of one or the lack of any insulation.

Shawn Martin

Martin Home Inspection Services

http://www.martininspect.com/

Whew! That's a good one. I wonder what happened to the insulation they ordered out and did not put in the attic? Seems like the builder would have caught that one. He should have wondered why the insulation was still sitting there waiting to be installed. Glad he wasn't building a house for me.

Thanks Shawn

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JUL

2007

How right you are Carl. I would encourage all buyers to have their own home inspector. It is better to be safe than sorry down the line.

In Ohio there are many areas that have NO inspections (by local authorities). And many do not know that there is a state code now.

So YES it is necessary to have your own inspector.

Dianne: Did I hear that they just changed the law in Florida referencing inspectors and certification? Get me caught up on the news. I have to go Friday and Saturday to get in some of my required hours which is such a good thing. You get out what you put in.

Carl

Mike: Thanks for your comment. It would be nice if we all had the same regulations so that it would not be so confusing for the consumer. I think inspectors licensing regulation is a good thing. I know many people think it is all about money but as the industry grows we need regulation. I wish they would have had home inspectors years ago when I purchased my first home (I'm not telling my age).

JUL

2007

Carl,

On the subject of municipal inspections: in ou area, a TV crew followed around several county inspectors, only to find them working an 8-hour day, minus about 1.5 hours for lunch, and still putting through 10-12, sometimes 15 inspections. That means a typical municipal inspector spent less than 15-20 minutes at each site, after the drive times... how thorough can that be? As opposed to a home inspection taking 2-3 hours.

Florida did pass legislation for inspectors. It's real cruddy legislation that doesn't take effect until 2010, so we have some time to try and clean it up.

JUL

2007

Andrew: It is hard for me to even begin to imagine that could be possible. Most days I don't even think about lunch, use that time to drive to the next inspection. With traffic and depending on location I usually book two inspections a day depending on size of the house.

Maybe I need to consider becoming a municipal inspector; wonder what they pay.....?????

JUN

2008

I wish my husband and I had hired a home inspector for our home while it was under construction. We had one after a year in the house. Turns out there were four roof trusses that were cut 90% through, and given an improper field repair. The inspector pointed out the deficiency, and builder was VERY apologetic and quick to fix it. A roof collapse would have been a possiblity if we'd had a heavy, wet snow. Thank God we don't get much snow here in VA! ALWAYS have your home inspected.

Chris - Glad you agree getting your home inspected is the best thing anyone building or buying should do. When building a new home you want that inspection before the foundation pour, another time before the walls are enclosed and another before you sign. Sometimes it mayl take an extra inspection depending on the size of the house but it is well worth having that independent inspection by a "certified inspector".

JUN

2008

Absolutely get an inspection done on a new home. Otherwise you are leaving to chance that literally dozens of trade subs all did their jobs perfectly, and all required local inspections checked out EVERYTHING, and did not overlook anything! I'm not saying anything omitted or incorrect is intentional, it's just life.

I think the builder's inspection is well worth the money it costs. It will save a lot of headaches later on.

Richard - It is truly important to have the inspection. There are items that can be overlooked. As you said, not intentional. When my son built his home I found a number of important items that needed to be fixed before they signed. In this case I think it was intentional. A young couple, building their first home and anxious to sign and move in. Not good.

Latonia - I agree. A few hundred dollars shoudl give you peace of mind. Better safe then sorry.

JUN

2008

I keep telling people that a staged inspection during construction is the absolute best way to go - an inspection after the framing, after the rough-in, plumbing, electrical, etc. Since an inspection is a visual check, without x-ray vision, a staged inspection is the ONLY way an inspector can truly see what's there behind the wall, and in the ceiling, under the flooring...

Andrew - Thanks for stopping with a comment. I encourage and many builders and clients now are very serious to bring in the third party to inspect the home throughout the building process.

In my area it's still a tough sell. Just like pre listing inspections. but I am getting more every year so maybe twice as big next year.

Shawn - Sure hope it continues to happen. Have to take baby steps at first and keep up community education. Take care and thanks for stopping by. Keep us informed on how it is going.

JUL

2008

You are so correct new, old and in between all houses should have an inspection. If not for the consumer but their children. Things that may not be immediately visible to the average consumer. On my last house an inspector found things I wouldn't have even considered looking for. We renegotated with the seller and had them fix the items.

Thank you for your positive response. I know many people just don't want to put out the extra money but in the long run it could definitely save them money.

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