Are You Buying a New Home?

Buying a new home is an exciting time. For those of us lucky enough to find that dream home and qualify for the mortgage it also provides a great deal of personal satisfaction.  It can also be a time of apprehension and fear of the unknown. 

You can alleviate some of those fears by being smart during this home buying process. One of the first things we should do is not buy on impulse. What I mean by this is many people will hop in the car and go to the neighborhood they have heard about and walk into a builder’s model home without representation and simply use the builder’s Site Agent and sign a contract. 

While at first blush there may be nothing wrong, however, in my experience I have seen young home buyers make mistakes with their choices; floor plans, add-ons and builder up-grades.  Some of those choices can be unnecessary and can add thousands to the total purchase price, and not bring lasting value.

I recommend that a home buyer always have a Realtor® on their side. The professional Real Estate Agent costs you nothing and depending on their experience level they can guide you through the complete process. They will help guide you through the buying process, sales contracts, mortgage selection, etc., and they can also assist you in making cost effective choices. Always have a team of people, on your side.

Many people wonder if they need a home inspection when they are buying a new home since the City or County has conducted code inspections on the home during construction.  Did you know that Code Inspectors are in many cases over worked and can only be at the home for a brief amount of time and the building code is a minimum standard.

As a home inspector, with over 22 years of experience, and having built many homes, for a popular Jacksonville home builder, I can emphatically say, YES. Simply said, new homes need a private third party inspection. And most builders appreciate a second or third set of eyes on their product.

At a minimum, the inspection process will provide you with peace of mind, which can be priceless. More importantly, the new home inspection can assist you in documenting the visual condition of the home prior to closing.  

The inspection process will also help you communicate any defects to the builder so they can ensure completion prior to closing (it eliminates builder warranty items after closing).  Most builders want you to be happy and the home complete prior to closing as this will eliminate any post-closing repair issues and hassles associated with making your home available for those repairs.

Some of the common issues discovered during a new home inspection are:

1.  Broken trusses.  Trusses are not to be broken during installation. When they are they should have specific design engineering to make an effective repair. 
2. Missing insulation. Insulation is one of the last items installed in a home. In the rush to complete the home, insulation can be over looked or can be incomplete.
3. Improper cultured stone installation. Cultured stone has very specific installation procedures that are often overlooked.
4. Lack of roof to wall flashings.  Proper roof to wall flashings, keeps the water out.
5. Improper roofing materials. In our area we tend to have very complicated roofs and in many cases the roofer has used improper materials for the sake of expediency.  Low slope crickets are often shingled rather than covered with a proper membrane.
6. Broken or inoperable windows. During construction the insulation contractor may use too much expanding foam to fill the voids in the framing around window openings causing the window to break of be so tight in the frame that they cannot be operated.
7. Hot and cold reversed. Hot water to the commodes. Easily corrected but can be overlooked and a nuisance and in the case of reversed plumbing expensive if not caught.
8. Heat pumps not working in the heat pump heating mode.  Did you know that heat pumps are like air conditioners that work in reverse in the winter (condensing unit must operate in the heating mode).
9. Split zone systems that are wired incorrectly. This means the thermostats are sending the wrong signals or to the wrong zones.
10. Large overhanging granite/stone counters that are not corbeled (supported).  There a specific national installation standards that address when a granite/stone counter should be corbeled.

The list provided in not all inclusive. Many other items can be discovered during a new home inspection.  Getting these issues resolved prior to closing assists all parties and most importantly will provide you a defect free new home.  

The best time to schedule that new home inspection is prior to your Builder’ Walk Through. The home inspector should make arrangements to get the inspection results to you in plenty of time so that you can review the results with your Builder prior to your Walk Through. In many cases the Builder will make a prudent effort to schedule any items needing attention and have those items completed prior to your scheduled Walk Through.

  

Additionally, the home inspector will want you there for the new home inspection. He/she can help familiarize you to the home and can also assist you in understanding the definition of cosmetic defects. While cosmetic defects are not part of a home inspection the inspector can help you in understanding what is expected of the builder as it relates to cosmetics and installation standards.

Charles Gifford