Recently, I was asked to provide my opinion to the "Home Inspection on New Construction" debate. Quite honestly, I am not quite sure why there is this debate, but nonetheless I put in my two cents. Not only that, I started thinking about what happened on the purchase of my first home, and why not getting a home inspection was my BIGGEST mistake.
Flash back about a decade. My wife and I were just married, had just finished college, and had recently started new careers, so naturally, I suggested we buy a house. (We actually did one thing right, we went and were pre-approved for our loan.) Having our pre-approval in hand, we started shopping for homes.
One way or another, we ended up with a REALTOR® we met at a listing.(The ol' name on the sign.) Anyway, he suggested a neighborhood. The next day, I went to the neighborhood, saw a house, and low and behold, we wrote an offer.
Here is where the BIGGEST mistake occurs.
The home we selected was "like" new construction. Basically, the home was purchased, then placed on the market due to a work relocation for the original buyer. The home was eight months old, which is why I say it is "like" new construction. Being only eight months old, we were informed that the home was still under the Builder's 1 Year Warranty.
Being a first time buyer, clueless, and dependent upon the experience of our real estate agent to provide guidance, I asked the immortal question: "What about a home inspection?"
As I recall, the response was multi-tiered, but centered around the fact that, normally, you don't get home inspections on new construction. Why? Because of the Builder's 1 Year Warranty, which "means" they will fix "anything" wrong. (If I only knew then what I know now...) He suggested saving the $300 dollars. So, knowing that we were "protected", and $300 richer, we went ahead with the purchase without a home inspection.
We can all guess what happened, right?
Moved in. Problems arose. Never provided a copy of the Builder's Warranty, let alone informed that they had "gone out of business", I tried to contact our REALTOR® for help. Can't reach him. Doesn't return phone calls. Our neighbors inform us that they could never get the builder to fix anything. By now, four months have passed. When I do reach someone with the builder, they inform me that the warranty period is over. Excellent. (For those keeping score, my second BIGGEST mistake was not calling an attorney.)
A quick estimate for repairs we made which could have been discovered in a home inspection: $4000.00. These repairs included the air conditioning, electrical, lack of insulation, and heat. Heck, I am not even counting the replacement of the landscaping. (FYI, never plant azaleas in full sun.)
Am I bitter? Not really. We made the decision to not get a home inspection. We learned an expensive lesson.
Flash forward to present.
So, what do you think my two cents were?
Always get a home inspection. Regardless.
Learn more about getting a home inspection on new construction.
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