Mistake No. 1 when buying a home: Not having new construction inspected
Even experienced homebuyers sometimes make this rookie mistake. They assume that because a home has passed all local codes and ordinances, it must be in good shape. Don’t be so sure, a brand new home that had just passed the final municipal and county building inspections may still have issues An inspector explored the crawl space beneath a house and discovered someone had removed about 3 feet of the home’s main support beam to accommodate duct work. The house was already beginning to sink in that area.
The moral of the story: Don’t assume your builder — or the contractors — did everything right just because the home passed code. An inspector is your last line of defense against major defects that could quite literally sink your financial future.
New home construction inspections are seen in two types: Completed New Home Construction Inspection and Phase Inspections.
If you are buying a home from a builder that has been completed, the builder will normally give you a one year builder warranty where they will fix items that were missed during the construction. We provide you a list of items to take to the builder to get them to work on before and after closing.
Phase Inspections begin before the slab is poured. Instead of inspecting the work AFTER it is done, we can inspect it AS it is done. What is covered during a Phase Inspection?
- Phase I: Inspect the foundation before the concrete is poured
- Phase II: Inspect the framing, electrical, plumbing and HVAC rough-ins
- Phase III: Completed construction.