I Don't Need a Home Inspection . . . I'm Buying a New Home From the Builder
Carla's experience comes into full play on the blog about the need to hire your own home inspector when purchasing a new home - buyers and their agent should read it fully
I Don't Need a Home Inspection . . . I'm Buying a New Home From the Builder
My post, and title, came about after reading Nevin Williams' recent post: I Don't Need an Agent Because I'm Buying a New Home from a Builder
With blessings from Nevin, I'm posting this as a "Part II," you might say.
In Oregon, new construction of homes falls under the auspices of the CCB, Construction Contractors Board.
Under statute (ORS 701.320) new homes are under "warranty," for a period of time. NOTE: Be careful not to confuse "warranty" with "guarantee."
Here's a link for more information on the CCB New Residential Structure Warranty Provisions
Because some buyers realize a new home has warranties, they will forgo the home inspection. And, some home buyers, mistakenly think the home is "guaranteed" because it's new.
With this, they also think they'll save the $300 (more or less) of the cost of a home inspection. They couldn't be more . . .
WRONG!
Here are only a few problems we've encountered, and fortunately, we DID have a home inspection:
- Rain Gutters-- Here, in the Great Pacific NW, rain gutters are imperative. It rains a lot. In one new home inspection, the call made by the inspector was the gutters were hung parallel. No slant. Problem with that is, with a gutter hung with no slant, the water will not drain. The long-term problem would have been the gutters rusting out very quickly with standing water, debris, etc. Had the home buyer opted to forgo a home inspection (and they can), this problem might not have been discovered until the gutters rusted out.
- Bathtub -- Might not seem like a huge call, but a dime size dent in the bathtub would have gone unnoticed had it not been called out by the home inspector. The bathtub/shower combo was fiberglass, and might have gotten dinged with the install. These types of cracks are not noticeable to untrained home buyers. Over a long period of time, water would have seeped -- consistently -- through the broken, small dent in the fiberglass. Can we say "structural dry rot" boy and girls? I knew you could!
- Toilet -- During a home inspection, the inspector performed a check on the plumbing systems. GOOD THING!! The lower level toilet overflowed. Thankfully, the home had never been used (if you know what I mean), and the flow was only clean water, not sewerage. Problem was: The pipe had become blocked. How? We suspect that when the drywall was installed, a drain (somewhere) wasn't covered. Drywall, and other debris got lodged in the pipe. When it got wet it expanded. the house wasn't being used, so it dried, causing the blockage. Sure, the home was under "warranty." The builder, a local, honest guy would have fixed the problem AFTER move in -- when the issue would have been discovered (had the home buyers foregone a home inspection.) The problem would have been: The overflow could have occured at any time. Perhaps, when they moved in on Friday, and at 10:00 p.m. the water in the lower level bathroom would have overflowed. First reaction: Call a plumber. That would have been costly, inconvenient, and NOT something that a warranty would have reimbursed. The plumber could not have fixed this problem, although they would have tried (at a hefty "emergency" service fee). The pipe blockage was near the street, and had to have been dug up to be corrected. Having the clogged pipes fixed PRIOR to move in, not having to go through the pain of calling in a plumber, paying for services that would not have remedied the situation -- YEAH, a home inspection was WORTH IT!!
I've got more stories . . . but suffice to say: My clients were homebuyers who listened to my counsel, and obtained a home inspection on their NEWLY constructed home!
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~ Representing Buyers Since 1999 ~
Carla Muss-Jacobs, ABR, CEBA, e-PRO, Realtor®
Principal Broker/Owner ~ EBAPortland, LLC
YOUR Exclusive Buyer's Agent
(503) 810-7192 / Carla@CarlaHomes.com
CHECK OUT www.EBAPortland.com for Home Buyer TIPS!
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