Just because it is a brand new home does not mean the builder has not missed important issues that may be costly for you to repair when discovered in the future.
Question: Don’t the city and county inspectors inspect the home for defects?
The municipal inspectors do not look for the same things that a Home Inspector looks for. You have several inspectors looking at different aspects of the home. None of them look at the home as a total system. You may have a framing final inspection before the plumber comes in to install plumbing and cut through a main floor joist. The municipal inspectors do not go on roofs and do not crawl into crawl spaces. Many times they only spot check certain items because of the demands on their schedules with the building boom that exists in the Triangle area.
You can not rely on the municipal inspectors to catch all the problems with a home. Only, by hiring your own Home Inspector can you be sure that all the issues can be repaired by the builder prior to closing.
Even the best builders rely on many sub-contractors and subs tend to do their work independently of other subs. One may undo something that another has done. We see duct work not attached, shingles missing from roofs, flashing not properly installed.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that celebrity endorsements of builders will get you a better home. ALWAYS, have a NEW HOME inspected!
Question: How many inspections should I have?
If you can find your home prior to the drywall being installed, that is the very best time to have your first inspection. A pre-drywall inspection will allow the Home Inspector to find things related to electrical wiring, plumbing and framing that would go unnoticed because they would be covered up when the drywall was installed.
Your second inspection should be completed after the Certificate of Occupancy has been issued by the county and all systems are operating i.e. water, electric and gas have been turned on. This enables the Home Inspector to operate all your appliances and systems to ensure they all work properly. This inspection should be performed prior to your punch list walk through with the Builder. All items found on your Home Inspection can then be included on the Builder’s punch list.
When you go to sell your home, items you were not aware of may show up when your Buyer has the home inspected. These could be very expensive repair items that could have been taken care of by the Builder when you purchased the home.
Always have a new construction home inspected!
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