Homes Inspections...New Contruction...Thoughts? (how much, custom home, neighborhoods)

[VickiR]

I posted this response on the "NC" side but I wanted others on the "Triangle" side to read this as well. Its concerns Home Inspections on new houses:

More and more people are getting their new homes inspected. I think its a great idea. One of my Home Inspectors said that he thinks its a good idea to WAIT UNTIL THE HOUSE IS TEN MONTHS OLD and then have it inspected. That way, the house has had time to settle and its right before the one year anniversary of the home so the builder will be coming back to do any necessary repairs.

On the other hand...just had one of my listings inspected by the new buyers. This is a very expensive custom built home. The Home Inspector found that the floor joist under the downstairs l/2 bathroom had been cut incorrectly.

I had my seller call the builder even though the house is 3 years old. The builder was astonished at what he saw! Seems someone cut the floor joist to fit some piping in and never went back to add another floor joist. Even after 3 years, the builder did the repairs!

Vicki

[saturnfan]

Many of the new homes are pure junk built by undocumented workers with little or no supervision.

It is critical to inspect before closing since some deficiencies may be show stoppers. Also, it would be prudent to get an opinion on the soil. A lot of the clay in NC will settle. Some a bit, some to a very destructive level.

Waiting 10 months will remove the opportunity to bail out if the construction is deficient. The lax building codes in NC offer little protection.

As you may recall, Hurricane Andrew in FL took out way more new construction than older work.

Beware of the new stuff.

[TuborgP]

We are building a custom home and if you are investing the time and money you may want to do what we are doing. Home Inspector prior to settlement and Home Inspector at 10 months. Look at the cost of the inspection in relationship to the cost of the house and how much in grief and repair cost to you will be saved. Penny wise pound foolish can be expensive.

[mm1234]

Can anyone recommend a reputable home inspector?

Thanks!

[saturnfan]

You hit the nail on the head, TuborgP.

[OmegaBaby]

No one has mentioned the importance of also having a pre-drywall inspection done! Once the drywall goes up, you can no longer inspect for structural defects, plumbing, electrical wiring, etc...

[saturnfan]

Yes, nice to be able to view the innards.

[Stu Barnes]

I can recommend one...pm me

[OmegaBaby]

Originally Posted by saturnfan

Many of the new homes are pure junk built by undocumented workers with little or no supervision.
.... The lax building codes in NC offer little protection....

I don't know if I completely believe that new homes are all junk. The building codes in NC haven't been getting more lax....they've been getting stricter over time. So the building codes were actually worse in the past.

I think in the past, there was a mixture of good construction and junk construction, just like there is today. Good construction was found in upscale neighborhoods, poor construction was found in poorer neighborhoods. In the poorer neighborhoods is where you'll find the old homes which are falling apart. And I think the quality of the subcontractors in the past is about the same as the quality of the undocumented workers today.

If hurricanes take out more new homes, then perhaps it's because there are more new homes out there, and the old junk homes were already taken out by previous hurricanes leaving only the good quality homes behind?

[ducter]

Originally Posted by saturnfan

Many of the new homes are pure junk built by undocumented workers with little or no supervision.

It is critical to inspect before closing since some deficiencies may be show stoppers. Also, it would be prudent to get an opinion on the soil. A lot of the clay in NC will settle. Some a bit, some to a very destructive level.

Waiting 10 months will remove the opportunity to bail out if the construction is deficient. The lax building codes in NC offer little protection.

As you may recall, Hurricane Andrew in FL took out way more new construction than older work.

Beware of the new stuff.

Also alot of the "upscale homes" also have poor quality, just many more options.