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Why Have a New House Inspected?

It's brand spanking new! It still has that "new home" smell (really just paint, carpets and cabinets off gassing). The builder offers a full year warranty. Why bother having the house inspected? Right?

Well, maybe.

Hear the stories:

Story #1: New house. Pretty house. Big house. Reputable builder. Local municipal inspector signed off on several in-process inspections. A final CO (Certificate of Occupancy) was issued. Apparently no one noticed the large red sticker glued to the front of the natural gas furnace in the attic.

The sticker that said, "DO NOT INSTALL THIS FURNANCE ON ITS BACK."

Yep, you guessed it. It was installed on its back.

"But, what's the fuss," you say. "It's under warranty and all I have to do is make a phone call to the builder."

But, it was winter. It's a gas furnace. If it had been turned the first night the new owners were in the house, it could have also filled the house with carbon monoxide (a colorless, odorless poison gas). Not a good thing.

Fortunately, it was seen by the new owner's home inspector (yours truly) and remedied before occupancy.

Oh, and there were no carbon monoxide detectors in the house. Close call? Maybe. Who wants to find out?

Story #2: New house. Pretty house. Reputable builder. Reputable builder. Local municipal inspector signed off on several in-process inspections. A final CO (Certificate of Occupancy) was issued. (Sound familiar?)

Who noticed that there was no roofing paper (sometimes called tar paper or felt) under some of the shingles?

Maybe the framing crew knew (they're the ones that put the roofing paper on after the plywood roof decking was installed).

Probably the roofing guys knew (they put the shingles on over the roofing paper, or, in this case, over no roofing paper).

Did the municipal inspector know? Probably not. He didn't watch the roof go on. He certainly didn't lift any shingles to check.

Did the builder know? Probably not. He didn't watch the roof go on. He probably didn't lift any shingles to check. He replied on his sub contractor, the roofer, to do the job "right."

Does anyone know that in 3-5 years the plywood decking will be rotten. In humid parts of the country like the Deep South, water tends to condense on the bottoms of shingles. The roofing paper protects the plywood from this condensation. No roofing paper? No protection.

What good is a one-year warranty 3-5 years from now?

Fortunately, the new owners' inspector checked. And there is roofing paper on the roof now.

Story #3: Let's talk flashing. Do you know what flashing is, where it goes and what it does? If you do, you're in the top 10%!

Flashing prevents water from entering an intersection of two parts of the house like a wall and a roof. Flashing is generally installed around the base of a chimney at the roof to keep the water out. Flashing is generally installed between the wall of a two-story house and the roof of the adjacent master suite (single story)

Leave out the flashing and you have a leak. Not a big leak. But enough to cause mold in a week or two, and rot in a few years.

I have inspected 14 brand new houses in the last 12 months that had missing or improperly installed flashings. A one-year warranty offers no protection for rotted studs and mold a couple of years down the road.

So, does a brand new home need an inspection? You decide.

Questions? Concerns? Call or send me an email. There's no charge for a telephone chat or an exchange of emails.

Tom Sinclair

About the House - Home Inspections

Fairhope, Alabama

(251) 990-3169

http://www.inspecttestanalyze.com/

Posted by Tom Sinclair on 03/27/2007 11:13 PM

Comments (5)

new house, builder, furnace, baldwin county, roof

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5 Comments on Why Have a New House Inspected?

MAR

2007

The home inspection is a must. I have only had one client decide not to have one, but he was a general contractor and went over the home with a fine tooth comb. In Oregon, part of the new construction earnest money agreement advises the client to have a professional inspection done. I always advise the buyer to get a home inspection no matter what the age of the home. A home is a big investment and it is better to know what you are getting yourself into.

Tom,

I always recommend that also I ask them if they want to do a lead based paint test when home it is older than 1978 and Radon just in case

You guys are on the mark! Reduces your liability, too.

Tom

MAR

2007

I've heard stories where couples bought a property at a better price because they didn't get the inspection. It seems to me that this would show there is reason to have one done. But it was explained as a way to close sooner. I think if I was to make the choice I would have to go with the inspection though because just as you showed above, I would regret later not having it done. I wonder how often people agree to this to be sure their bid "wins" the property?

MAR

2007

Ok I'll wade into the crocodile tank here. From a builder's perspective, I can tell you horror stories of home inspectors gone bad!

First, I built a home for a young couple. They said right up front that they wanted to have the home inspected during construction so they could be sure everything was built right. We said "no problem" but advised them to have the inspector call ahead so our project manager could tour with him. Well you guessed it, the inspector decided to trespass and do a surprise inspection ... fell in a hole and twisted his ankle ... sued us.

Second, Synergy Homes built for a young single mother. She was concerned during selections and contracting that her dad should come check out the house, but he lived quite a ways away. We then suggested a home inspection protocol, she could choose her own of course, that may allay her fears. Well, it only gets better. This home inspector did a great job. But two weeks prior to closing, when one more inspection was needed, he went on vacation. He sent another inspector, we call him Patton for fun, who was ex-military and thought it was his job to help the customer get a discount by finding problems in the house. She got scared, walked away, we sold the house for $10,000 more to another couple.

Third, when we sell specs, quite often the selling agent will put a home inspection in the offer. We accept of course, since it's almost always a full price offer. Well lo and behold, it's really not a full price offer. It's a way to "negotiate" a lower price after the builder has had the house off the market for a week or two. Magically the home inspector finds "no code violations" but "some problematic things that I would recommend having the builder change." This is blatant system manipulation ... I've informed my salesteam that if they bring me an offer with home inspection, the earnest money is to be made non-refundable ... I'd say 25% of them are just trying to low-ball by playing games.

Now, I say all this knowing that you may suggest these are just "bad" inspectors. And I would agree that your stories above are just "bad" builders. Got any ideas?

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