Home Inspection AFTER new construction closing (build, best, covered, Phoenix)
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It's a Georgia property. Thee contract says the inspection will be at my expense if I choose to do so. I can't have it done whenever, it has to be agreed upon with the salesperson.
Depending on what State you live in, the builder may not have a leg to stand on. If Home Inspectors are licensed in your State, he would have a hard time proving that he wants the home inspector to have more insurance than the State requires (TN requires $500,000). The other question would be if he requires all people entering his homes to have the same insurance. Since a home inspector is not really "working" on the house, then why the insurance need?
That said, I would have a huge problem with a builder trying to limit what I can or can not do.
To answer the second part of your question. Most builders do offer a 1 year warranty on their homes. I do a lot of 11 month inspections.
That said, I have found some of the following doing new home construction (after they moved in), none of which were caught by City Inspector.
Waste pipes not connected under house.
Vent pipes that did not go thru roof (cut off in attic).
Attic spaces not fully insulated.
Live electrical wire ends in various locations.
Hot water piped to toilets.
A fireplace flue that was open in attic (did not go thru roof).
Numerous framing issues.
Flashing and roofing issues.
Our new construction with a local builder (not a national) back in 2010 had
- one year warranty on the home;
- two years on anything electrical;
- ten years on the foundation;
This is in addition to separate warranties on things like the furnace and plumbing fixtures and shingles, which the builder or subcontractor submitted on our behalf (be sure to fill those out or make sure they are submitted on your behalf - by simply submitting the paperwork, the HVAC sub made sure our furnace is under a ten-year manufacturer warranty, which covered the fan replacement needed in year five).
From talking with neighbors, this was common with the national builders that built in my neighborhood as well. Could be state law, though (Minnesota law tends to protect consumer as well as business in many areas).
For our walk-throughs at various stages of the build, we had people with us each time, including the final walk inspection (good to have tradespeople in the family).
One neighbor who built after us kept their builder at the final inspection until nearly midnight (eight hours). They found issues and would not sign off. The builder dealt with all of those they brought up and scheduled another final inspection. It added a week to the move-in date but the builder stepped up when the buyers wouldn't accept what they considered to be unfinished work.
When I built a new house, I paid my own inspection prior to closing so that those issues would be fixed before closing. Glad I did! My furnace was never connected!!! It was in the attic so I would never have seen it. There were several other issues as well. All were fixed before we closed.
Finding an inspector with those requirements isn't a challenge. Inspectors know what they're doing. In many states they have to have a million dollar insurance policy.
You saying it's not worth the hassle is exactly what your crappy builder is counting on. And no they won't fix anything after closing. There have absolutely no reason to. You agreed to purchase the house and close on it.
And don't think your 1 year warranty will cover building issues. That warranty is VERY specific and totally in their favor. They can basically pick and choose what to fix. Warranties do NOT cover everything!
It's a Georgia property. Thee contract says the inspection will be at my expense if I choose to do so. I can't have it done whenever, it has to be agreed upon with the salesperson.
But I believe you can choose the home inspector. And they HAVE to give you access to the property for an inspection.
We have built two homes and both builders have fixed ANYTHING that comes up within a year. Our current builder (moved last year) even painted marks on the wall from us moving in! It all depends on the builder and hopefully you did your homework on them before you started building.
With that said, all inspectors should have insurance with at least $1mil, so I don't think you will find that as a problem. Also, you really don't want the inspection done until the home is completed anyway so how would the inspector get in the way?
We actually didn't get an inspection done on either new build due to having a warranty, but you might want to get one for peace of mind. ALSO, GET A RADON TEST DONE!!!
Thanks for the advice guys, I'll research home inspectors that have the insurance requirements and get my sales people to agree to a time. I have many more months.
I was just giving those examples of things I have found on "new construction", trying to make the point that an inspection is very important.
Some of those things were found on homes I was hired as an expert witness because there was a lawsuit with the builder.
Most of the time, the things I find on 11 month inspections are corrected by the builders. After all, if it wasn't done correctly to begin with, they need to make it right.
Is this new build part of a development where the builder is building multi homes?
They are townhomes. 3-8 per building, depending on what the land/street allows. About 80planned in the first phase. My building and the adjacent are 3 story townhomes. Most of the other buildings in the development are 2 story.
I deal with a few national/regional builders with these type of rules as an inspector. It is annoying, but ultimately just a matter of sending over a certificate of insurance and scheduling the inspection on a day the builder is comfortable with.
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