If a house was built in 2004, is it pretty much guaranteed to have no problems? (foreclosure, agent)

[CoastieTX]

There was a thread here a while back about things homebuyers would never do again. A recurring thing many people mentioned was that they would never buy a new home again because of all the issues that arose. With an older home, it's much easier to see what you're getting yourself into. Just because a home is newer doesn't mean it'll have fewer problems by any stretch of the imagination.

[Rakin]

If a car was built in 2004 would you assume it had no problems? It depends on how well it was built and maintained.

So get a good mechanic, er inspector to look under the hood, kick the tires and check out it's engine.

[TexasHorseLady]

I've had inspections on brand new never-lived in homes that had issues. Remember, houses are built by people, and someone could have come to work with a hangover or having had a fight with the spouse or kids or any number of things, and not done the best job in the world on that particular day and it not been caught.

So, ASSUME NOTHING. Have an inspection by a meticulous inspector.

[HappyTexan]

I've been reading the newer homes built during the boom times can actually be worse due to the speed in which they put them up and lack of skilled people to work on home building.

I'd get a good inspection. Personally I wouldn't buy any home built during this RE boom.

[Charles22]

I thought that 2004 was the only year that homes were built without any flaws.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan

its a foreclosure. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths on over 2 acres.

all looks good to the naked eye

Not at all. Saving money by skipping the inspection has a funny way of getting really expensive.

[scuba steve]

Originally Posted by Charles22

I thought that 2004 was the only year that homes were built without any flaws.

I'm pretty sure it was... they were on the Toyota Production System that year I think.

[bproven]

For $300 I wouldn't skip an inspection. On a newer house you may not notice the problems b/c the house hasn't had time to age/settle. I'd venture an older home gives you more security since you can easily see how it aged over the years - no expensive surprises. I would also factor in what others have mentioned that many homes built in recent years were built cheap, fast, etc in order to take advantage of the housing boom - unless the home was custom built it probably falls in this category.

Get the inspection - its worth the $300 when you are spending (or at least committing to spending) hundreds of thousands of dollars on something.

EDIT: Not that it means anything, but personally I wouldn't touch a home built in the last 8 years for the reasons I mention unless I knew the builder, it was custom, and it was not a tract home.

Good luck house hunting though - it is tough

[MsFancyPants]

An inspection is crucial. I would never buy any home w/o a professional inspection. In fact, I switched inspectors b/c when I was selling, the buyers' inspector found things my inspector didn't when I bought the place the year before. Find the best one you can. Secondly, I like newer construction b/c in CA, the builder is on the hook for 10 years for any construction defect. There is more recourse than a house that has changed hands many times in the past 30, 40 years. Just my personal opinion. Of course, newer homes can have problems, no doubt. But the building codes are better now, materials are better now, more energy efficient, et cetera.

[bowian]

While a newer house wouldn't have an issue with something not functioning properly because of age, if it's not constructed or maintained (or renovated) properly, that's a real problem.

I don't know if speed of construction is the primary determinant of house quality, but I'd bet that skill makes the biggest difference. Whether it takes three months or a year to build a house, if you're jacking it up during construction, you will still have problems (if the problems are not fixed) with the house. Also, if a house is built poorly in the 1950s or the 2000s, you will still have problems with the house.

Quality of construction skill (not hiring just anybody to slap something together), quality of construction materials (I've seen builders go cheap in this market in my neighborhood) and even consumer demand (they want new houses quick) all can play a role. New houses tend to have a lot of builder-grade (let's be honest, cheap) materials, unless you pay for upgrades.

I hired a good inspector (who definitely was NOT cheap) to look at my house pre-drywall and at the end of construction. Besides a few things here and there, he deemed the house to be well-built. Several years later, I've found only a few minor things wrong.