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Buying a home, even new, is like buying a used car.

By
Home Inspector with Aspect Inspection

 

Buying a home, even new, is like buying a used car.

In a factory, so the legend goes, if your car is made on a hung-over Monday morning or a weekend-anticipating sloppy Friday, it might come out less than par. But it is still quality tested and within acceptable standards.

So you don’t typically ”inspect” at new car at the point of purchase. You are well advised to do so for a used car.

Housing should be treated the same way, even new homes. You all understand the sense of having a ‘used’ home inspected, similar to a used car.

But houses are not factory built. There’s more that a few hung-over Monday mornings occurring during the build period.  And it’s not even the same guys doing the same design or having the same training level each time.

Mistakes are made, errors occur and things are forgotten or missed. Everybody is in a hurry. And it's definitely a tougher market out there.

This spring I've had a larger number of 'issues' found during my inspections that used to be negotiated to resolution. Now more of them are causing the sale to crash and burn.

After her second inspection one client, herself a part time realtor complained to me that this deal was going to fail because of something I had found. (The first home she had me inspect had "pyrite' issues.)

I said, " Had they made a reasonable settlement would you have bought the house?"  "Yes" was the answer! 

"If I hadn't identified the presence of asbestos, would you have been better served? "  "No!" was the answer!  

So it's as if you bought a used car and about a month or so goes by and you now you suddenly have to put in a new transmission.

What are you going to say to the mechanic who inspected it before you bought it?  Plenty, I'm sure.

What? You didn’t have an inspection? Oh……….

 

 

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Comments (21)

Robert Butler
Aspect Inspection - Montreal West Island, QC
Montreal Home Inspector | Aspect Inspection

You're welcome Sue.

Apr 18, 2011 03:39 AM
Donald Hester
NCW Home Inspections, LLC - Wenatchee, WA
NCW Home Inspections, LLC

Robert,

I have been doing draw inspection for a client that builds several homes at a time. I can assure anyone out there that things are missed by the builders and the Code/Building Inspectors all the time.  As home inspectors we are the last line of defense for the client and hope we find those items that slipped by.

Apr 18, 2011 04:19 AM
Robert Butler
Aspect Inspection - Montreal West Island, QC
Montreal Home Inspector | Aspect Inspection

You are right Don. What most don't understand is that 'sampling' is not checking everything. For that you basically have to be there full time and shadow supervise.

Apr 18, 2011 06:55 AM
Not a real person
San Diego, CA

Never buy a home that was built on a Monday or Friday! JJJJ

Apr 18, 2011 03:52 PM
Stacey Smith
Keller Williams Realty - Aliso Viejo, CA
Your Orange County Beach Cities Realtor

Great post... It may say "new" but if it was built by cheap laborers that cut alot of corner's the probability of it surviving the life of the loan or having a good resale value is very low.

Apr 18, 2011 04:12 PM
Robert Butler
Aspect Inspection - Montreal West Island, QC
Montreal Home Inspector | Aspect Inspection

Hi Russel. All homes have had work done on then on a Monday or a Friday. Home builds are measured in months. Car plants measure how many are produced per day.

Hi Stacey. You've brought up some good points. Value at the end of the loan matters.

 

Apr 19, 2011 02:17 AM
Mark R. Hardy
Short Sales, REO, New Builds, First Time Buyer - Mesa, AZ
Short Sale Specialist Realtor - Mesa AZ

Hi Robert,

You make some excellent points here in this article.  I had a client buy a new home in January and we went thru on a walkthrough we made a small list of things that the builder needed to address and neither of us were licensed inspectors.  I always recommend getting a home inspected for this and many other instances and experiences I had had.

Apr 19, 2011 04:50 AM
Robert Butler
Aspect Inspection - Montreal West Island, QC
Montreal Home Inspector | Aspect Inspection

Nothing wrong with a walk through to clear up any obvious 'issues' Mark. Your advice not to substitute it for an inspection is solid.

Apr 19, 2011 05:25 AM
Robert Hammerstein
Christie's International Real Estate - Hillsdale, NJ
Bergen County NJ Real Estate

Robert - We always tell buyers to have an inspection... In NJ it would be quite unusual to not have one... period...

Apr 19, 2011 05:37 AM
Patricia Aulson
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOME SERVICES Verani Realty NH Real Estate - Exeter, NH
Realtor - Portsmouth NH Homes-Hampton NH Homes

So true.....thanks for the post today.  I like the analogy you've used and enjoyed the read.

 

Patricia/Seacoast NH & ME

Apr 19, 2011 05:44 AM
Robert Butler
Aspect Inspection - Montreal West Island, QC
Montreal Home Inspector | Aspect Inspection

Robert thats the only sensible policy. Sadly people are not always sensible.

Hi Patricia. The analogy works as we all have to buy both.

Apr 19, 2011 05:46 AM
Traci Ferguson
San Luis Obispo Realtor & ecoBroker with Patterson Realty - San Luis Obispo, CA
Realtor, EcoBroker, LEED AP

Inspections can tell buyers what they don't necessarily want to hear, but they are better off knowing what they are getting themselves into. I like the annalogy it paints the correct picture.:) Great reminder post Robert.

Apr 19, 2011 05:59 AM
Robert Butler
Aspect Inspection - Montreal West Island, QC
Montreal Home Inspector | Aspect Inspection

Thanks Traci, I'm glad you appreciated it. They do need to know the facts, scares, not so much.

Apr 19, 2011 06:19 AM
Charles Buell
Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA
Seattle Home Inspector

Robert, so true.  There is no way around the issue really.  We must report what we find regardless of the state of the economy or the effect on the deal.  Sooner or later the information will come out and wearing blinders or blindfolds is never a good idea.

Apr 19, 2011 07:05 AM
Mike Yeo
3:16 team REALTY - Frisco, TX

Inspection is part of the deal. It would be crazy if someone bought a house without inpsection. Great post.

Apr 19, 2011 08:24 AM
Cory Barbee
San Diego, CA
Broker (760) 563-4022

Great post...we always encourage the buyers to do a home inspection and we've had several do inspections on new homes...found mold on a $1.4mil home on the day of closing...you never know...

Apr 19, 2011 08:32 AM
Rosalie Evans
Meritus Group Real Estate - Sioux Falls, SD
The Evans Group, Sioux Falls, SD Homes For Sale

It all boils down to prices of gas going up, and all of the manufactors having to pass on the cost to stay profitable. So the contractors are using cheaper materials or skipping important steps to also stay profitable. One way or another its bad for the consumer...especially if they do not have an inspection! Hope you are having a good week.

Apr 19, 2011 08:46 AM
Robert Butler
Aspect Inspection - Montreal West Island, QC
Montreal Home Inspector | Aspect Inspection

Right Charles, we have to say it as it is. Minimizing it or glossing it over serves no one.

Believe it or not Mike, there are crazy people out there. Wish them luck because they need it.

Hi Cory. Wow, and on closing day. Just shows you price makes no guarantees.

Hello Rosalle. I hadn't looked at that aspect. it usually takes a while to trickle down. If todays prices are any indication we may all soon be living in tents.

Apr 19, 2011 10:45 AM
Not a real person
San Diego, CA

Hmmm. I came home from my inspection to find you with a featured post and me with one more called shot. I wonder if there is any correlation. Congratulations!

Apr 19, 2011 02:49 PM
Robert Butler
Aspect Inspection - Montreal West Island, QC
Montreal Home Inspector | Aspect Inspection

There's a good change there might be Russel. Thanks for the suggestion and the re-blog. That likely helped to get it noticed. I didn't realize that I would get points in that case also. So A double thanks are in order, thank you, thank you.

Apr 20, 2011 04:07 AM