S/O Home Inspections

Shortie24

Today starts our 17 day period where we can get a home inspection. Our agent says that since the house was built in 2007 and only had one owner (which he knows), in his opinion it would be a waste of money to do.

We're both on the fence about it.

What would you do?

MrsS728

Honestly my husband and I recommend getting the Mike Holmes' book on inspections and read the section on new construction. Best book when it comes to home inspections. Look out for number 1. Do the inspection because you never know. Also, the bank may require an inspection.

R.Wilsonny

Even though it's 'new' construction, I would still advise getting the inspection just for your own peace of mind. Some of the newer constructions have issues too, not to mention, you never know what the previous owners did in their time in the house, anything they may have broken and may have cut corners to fix, etc etc....and perhaps there is nothing wrong with the house, but just to put your mind at ease, always get an inspection.

oneplusoneistwo

An inspection is never a waste of money.  You have no idea how well the house was built.  6 years is plenty long enough for things to go wrong.  I think it would be a really bad idea not to have an inspection.  Our house was brand new and we did and found a few things the builder had to correct.  You can probably get a basic inspection for $500 or less...for that small amount of money you are making sure you are spending the several hundred thousand dollars, or whatever amount of money it is, wisely on the house.

MommyLiberty5013

DH and I built our first home. We had an inspection done once the home was finished. The inspector, whom we paid $400, discovered that the builder had forgotten to put flashing on a portion of the roof! Best $400 we ever spent. It saved us thousands.

On our second home, built in 1994, our REA (jerk) advised us not to get an inspection. We ignored him and did one anyway. Major foot in his mouth situation. Upon insepction of the furnace (original to the home), the inspector discovered a crack in the heat exchanger, which can leak carbon monoxide and can KILL people.

He was like, "Oh, good thing you guys did an inspection."

We got a new furnace out of that find, which the seller had to pay for.

ETA: Do an inspection. Don't go with one your REA recommends. Find your own. Be sure they are highly rated on teh BBB and that they are ASHI certified. They should spend several hours on the property and shoudl take pictures and write you a report. The seller typically gets a copy or is at least informed of the major issues if any exist.

justamarried

I would 100% get an inspection.  However, I am a firm believer in the mantra, "Better safe than sorry."

I don't know what kind of realtor would suggest to not get a home inspection... Because he knows the seller?  That doesn't seem right to me.  Even new construction can have faults.  I would make sure your agent has your best interests in mind.

http://rismedia.com/2012-02-05/dont-forget-a-home-inspection-with-a-new-construction-home/

The best money we ever spent was on a home inspector.  It was a couple of hundred dollars, but it saved us thousands.  And although we backed out of that house, we learned SO much and it completely changed the way we continued to house hunt when we started looking again.  It made us smarter buyers. 

Sisugal

GET THE HOME INSPECTION!!

It is worth the money even if the home proves to be A-OK in every way.

Even brand new, never lived in homes need to be inspected.

I am sure the realtor would not be willing to pay for any problem that would be found after closing.  She is looking to get her commission and what she is suggesting is unethical IMO. 

ETA:  Be sure to attend the inspection as well.  You will learn alot about your home in the process.

cakergirl

Please don't assume that a newer home means its better built.  In my experience, some often the newest homes (dependent completely on the builder) are some of the most shoddy.  About 5 years ago most of the people in my close group of friends all bought our first homes.  The group was about 50/50 on the new versus old home buying.  Most of my friends that bought newer homes told me they could "never" buy an older one because of the costly repairs that would come up.  Ironically, 2 of the people that bought newer homes required major repairs. In the last 5 years (1 was roof repairs after a recent storm, the other was major plumbing flooring and drywall repair after the piping in the upstairs bathroom burst, and flooded the entire first floor).  Both of them spent qte a bit out of pocket for what home owners didnt cover.  by comparison... We spent $400 to replace a part in our furnace and that has been the only repair we have needed, and our home was built in the 50's.

 

I'm not saying this to bash new homes, or even to suggest that inspections would have caught these things (though they may have, these 2 couples didn't do inspects). Just don't assume that new = well built.  In my area there are 2 builders who are known for shoddy work but you don't always know necessarily if they built a particular home unless its specifically in one of their developments.  Otherwise it's often hard to find out who the builder was unless you were the first owner.  Sure, it may be a newer one.. But I would at least DO the inspection.  Chances are you won't find any dealbreakers or major hazards, but we just learned a ton about our home during it because the inspectors showed us everything.  Showed us little things he would fix even if they were technically up to code and or even if he thought they weren't worth squabbling about with the sellers, he just gave us a list that he would put on the "to do list" for later down the road. 

its was extremely helpful. 

MommyLiberty5013

eywj:

Please don't assume that a newer home means its better built.  In my experience, some often e newest homes (dependent completely on the builder) are some of the most shoddy.  About 5 years ago most of the people in my close group of friends all bought our first homes.  The group was about 50/50 on the new versus old home buying.  Most of my friends that bought newer homes told me they could "never" buy an older one because of the costly repairs that would come up.  Ironically, 2 of the people that bought newer homes required major repairs. In the last 5 years (1 was roof repairs after a recent storm, the other was major plumbing flooring and drywall repair after the piping in the upstairs bathroom burst, and flooded the entire first floor.

I'm not saying this to bash new homes, or even to suggest that inspections would have caught these things (though they may have, these 2 couples didn't do inspects). Just don't assume that new = well built.  In my area there are 2 builders who are known for shoddy work but you don't always know necessarily if they built a particular home unless its in one f their developments.   But I would at least DO the inspection.  Chances are you won't find any dealbreakers or major hazards, but we just learned a ton about our home during it because the inspectors showed us everything.  Showed us little things he would fix even if they were technically up to code and or even if he thought they weren't squabbling about with the sellers, he just gave us a list that he would put on the "to do list" for later down the road.

its was extremely helpful. 

I totally agree with the bolded!

My parent's new-build home that they built in 1984 took over 8 months to complete and it was a pretty basic model home like what the subdivisions have today. No frills or high-end extras. Just a basic 4 bed 2 1/2 bath home.

By comparison, our new-build that we did in 2008, which was also a run of the mill builder model, they put up in 3 months. The difference in square footage was maybe 400 square feet. There is NO comparison in the quality of construction.

The quality of construction has gone down in the last decade or two on new construction for NON-custom homes. The materials they use are typically cheaper and the skill of the labor force used is lower and not as conscientious.

dancingphalanges

I would definitely recommend an inspection.  I have a friend that bought a brand new home and is having serious problems with leaking.  Just because a home is new doesn't mean there aren't serious problems.  I think it is very suspicious that your agent is telling you not to.