Brand New Homes Don’t Need an Inspection, Right?

So you looked around at homes and after days or weeks or even months of seeing nothing that is as nice as you would want it you decided to buy a new home.

And I have to say a new home is pretty nice.

As much as I like older homes a brand spanking new home that still has that new house smell and no one has lived in is pretty exciting for most of us.

There are so many advantages to buying new. If you have read any of my blogs you know that everything in a house has a limited lifespan. All appliances will need replacing. Roofs reshingled, pipes rust and drains clog up with grease after decades of use. But with a new home you are starting a day one….woohoo!

Nothing to worry about but where things will go and who to invite over for the first dinner. Heck, we don’t even need an inspector because nothing could be broken or wrong.

And if you think like that you are only about half right.

There’s a reason that 40% of my inspections are brand new homes.

People make mistakes and so do builders and tradespeople.

No, you usually don’t have to worry about rusted pipes or worn out systems in a house.

But that is only part of the inspection.

What do I mean?

Well, every brand new home I inspect has a laundry list of issues it would be best the builder took care of before it became a bigger problem later…usually it is a minor issue but sometimes well, it isn’t so minor and can be a safety issue.

Like electrical wires hanging loose in an electrical panel. Or improper bonding. Or walls and windows that are cracked and repaired due to shifting. Or ovens calibrated 150 degrees too hot. And I have found more than one brand new house that had grading that would ensure flooding or foundation problems down the road.

Many of the issues inspectors find in new homes are going to be problems later. Like the hole big enough for bugs to take up residence in the walls. Or the insulation that someone forgot to put in the back of the house attic. Maybe the shower that wasnt sealed correctly…happens 90% of the time. The water will seep and seep until paint and wood rots and well things happen.

But then there are the safety issues like the garage door I test and find it wouldn’t stop if your car was caught under it….or your child. or the glass in the shower door that isn’t safety glass.

Things happen, people make mistakes, errors are made and things overlooked. A residential job site is a busy place with several houses being built at the same time. Even the guys that have been doing it for decades make mistakes.

So the next time you buy a new home, have a licensed, certified home inspector create your punch list. Better yet. Let us really help by inspecting the house before the drywall goes on. Then we get to see everything.

So when you are having dinner with your first guests the dinner will be cooked to perfection and the house will be just as perfect as you feel right then.

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