Seventeen Reasons to have New Construction Homes Inspected

December 7, 2007 | By Kelley Koehler | Filed Under Home Buying 

Via Dave Brownell, Second Opinion Home Inspections.

bathtub improper support Bottom plate fastener not installed Close up staples in water line Closet door frame not plumb Exposed nails in cabinet Hole in stucco pop out HVAC duct crushed by contractor  Missing insulation at soffits Missing insulation in attic wall nail head holding up shingle 2 Nails through hot water line Staple penetrates hot water lineHVAC duct crushed Stucco wire mesh exposed Sunken insulation in attic Water heater drain leakSwitch plate cover missing in attic

Comments

14 Responses to “Seventeen Reasons to have New Construction Homes Inspected”

  1. Jon McDermott on December 8th, 2007 11:16 pm

    Wow. I think the builder should get appropriate credit/publicity for the quality of their work.

    Your guy sure looks to be thorough. The inspection I got on the last house I purchased (inspector recommended by my agent BTW) barely skimmed the surface by comparison. When I asked the inspector why the attic results section was marked “n/a – no access”, he said that it was because there was no access to the attic. When I showed him the large, obvious attic access hatch, he said that he did not inspect any areas of the house that required climbing a ladder (I kid you not). The roof was inspected from ground level. I’ll not be taking a referral from my agent for an inspector next time, but it looks like you have a good one there.

    Thanks for sharing.
    R, Jon

  2. Athol Kay on December 9th, 2007 1:54 pm

    Scary stuff isn’t it.

  3. Kelley Koehler on December 9th, 2007 2:23 pm

    Jon – I’m sorry you had a bad home inspector! Like any profession, there are good and there are bad. It takes a little trial and error to find a fabulous inspector – and then you hold on to them like gold!

    Athol – with the number of trades that are in and out of the house in a relatively short time period, it’s amazing what mistakes can slip through unnoticed. There are builders that whine about the buyer’s inspector, but it saves everyone time and money further down the line, builder included.

  4. Steve Berg on December 9th, 2007 8:30 pm

    Kelley – Excellent! Even the better builders miss “stuff” as they try to quickly move to the next phase or the next project. Most reputable builders (at least in SD) will actually honor their warranties well beyond the one year mark. As you correctly point out, it is important to have any new home professionally inspected within the first year, usually in month 10 or 11 after the purchase. Again, very enlightening and a service to your clients.

  5. Pat Monahan on December 14th, 2007 3:44 pm

    This is a great post. I’ve told people time and again to get an inspection on their new built home. Some decline. Some say we have a year to do it because of the warranty. I say do you want to live in a house with potential problems that could get worse? I linked on my blog to yours and suggested that anyone buying in souther AZ get a hold of you. Thanks for the post.

  6. Chris Butterworth on December 19th, 2007 5:54 pm

    Great post, Kelley – the best post of its kind I’ve ever seen! I will be writing an introduction to it on my own blog & linking to you.

    This is the kind of information I’ve tried to describe to many clients, but I’ve never had the pictures to share (being worth 1,000 words and all that!) I have them now, and I’m not afraid to use them…

  7. RealEstateUndressed » Blog Archive » Magnificnt 7 - 2007 on December 31st, 2007 11:57 am

    [...] 2– 17 Reasons To Have New Construction Homes Inspected by House Chick BLog [...]

  8. Roberta Murphy on January 2nd, 2008 11:22 pm

    Kelley:

    Belated kudos for a terrific article. In this case, your photos tell stories that should awaken most new homebuyers from their deepest sleep.

    Thank you!

  9. Issaquah Highlands Undressed » Blog Archive » A Magnificent Consumer Tip on January 9th, 2008 6:52 am

    [...] are with new construction I specifically want to all your attention to one of the finalists, Seventeen Reasons To Have New Construction Homes Inspected. It is from The Housechick [...]

  10. Real Estate…………………. A Blog About It » Blog Archive » Chapter One - The Most Current Magnificent 7 on February 5th, 2008 12:39 am

    [...] 2–Seventeen Reasons to have New Construction Homes Inspected [...]

  11. Real Estate…………………. A Blog About It » Blog Archive » 2–Seventeen Reasons to have New Construction Homes Inspected on February 6th, 2008 11:22 pm

    [...] Seventeen Reasons to have New Construction Homes Inspected [...]

  12. The Butterworth Group » Should I have my New Construction Home inspected? on March 4th, 2008 11:37 am

    [...] Koehler wrote about this very same topic (Seventeen reasons to have new construction homes inspected), and posted some astonishing pictures along with it. This is a must read for anyone thinking about [...]

  13. Jennifer Kirby on March 5th, 2008 4:13 pm

    I just had my home built and moved in two weeks ago. Now I am wondering if we made a mistake by not having a home inspector come through. The one thing I never got to see was the attic insullation and if it was blown in at the correct level. I guess I will need to call an inspector in the next few months, before our 9 month walkthrough with the builder.

  14. Home Inspections? | Living in The East Valley on November 18th, 2009 4:31 pm

    [...] and the inspection that saved her client from getting a lemon. The blog is from the self named, Housechick down in Tucson, AZ. Check it out and if you are buying real estate in southern Arizona, you might want to give her a [...]

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