yes, it is very smart to have the inspection. the HI should give you a list of any problems he sees. keep in mind he may/maynot note code issues. truthfully he cannot say it is a code violation unless he is a code inspector. but he can say this does not look to be right and may be a safety issue!

also, before you take it over demand to see the inspection sheets fromteh building/electrical/plumbing/etc inspectors to verify that all permits were signed off on and all inspections passed. do not take anyone's word for it, get a copy of it for yourself in writing.

Always inspect a property, new or old before accepting it. Use whomever is best qualified to do it. One difficult issue in this case will be resolving the inspector's comments with what is in the contract documents, but at least he can make sure the house is safe and meets the building code.

Ideally, you'd have a structural engineer, and have inspections during construction. Those of us who've had construction defect cases know how important that would've been. In my case, the house was already done when I first saw it, so there was no opportunity to have inspections during construction. If I had that chance, major defects would've been discovered and I could've gotten out of the purchase. Instead I had a years long battle with a builder, and other parties, before finally settling. From what I've heard from others, we were lucky; most do not recover as much of their damages as we did. Because of a bad builder and a house that "looked" ok once the defects were covered up, we came close to losing everything. We don't own the house anymore, it was unloaded for next to nothing and with full disclosure and it's probably going to be a tear down before much longer. But while we were in it, it ran our lives. Get the inspection, and get a good one.

Most of the 'regular' home inspectors will hide behind their various 'professional groups'.
Many define new construction inspection as 'out of scope'.

Most would not recognize a framing issue unless it fell down while they looked at it.

The wife doesn't think an inspection for a new house in necessary. She cites the builder's one year warranty, it passed the city's inspections, brand new appliances, etc.

I'm still on the fence; should we spend the $300? In your opinion, what are top three or four things that having an inspection on new construction could potentially uncover?

Thanks again for the input!
Ryan

I would not hesitate to spend $300 to get someone's qualified objective opinion. Just because a house is new doesn't mean there is nothing wrong with it. We had an independent inspector come out, he was here all day. He ran tests on everything from the plumbing to the electric, he was up on the roof and all over the place. He checked every single outlet and anything else you can think of. Even though it was not required, he pointed out things to me that needed attention that were not related to structural issues, which is why he was there. I was shocked at how extremely thorough he was. He then ran a 48 hour radon test. Our gc was furious that we got someone to do that, and it cost over $1000.00, but it was worth every cent. They charge according to square footage. This is the single biggest investment we will ever make, and we were not comfortable taking our gc's word for it that the house was built well.

Our inspector only came up with 5 things he termed major, 3 of which we were already working on. He found 12 minor things that he felt should be addressed. We were very happy with the results and do not regret writing that check.

Good luck!

Amy

Ryan, I would NOT close until you receive the okay from a structural engineer (not a home inspector). If your wife wants to know what kinds of things a structural engineer could discover in a brand new home, how about just a few of the things that ACTUALLY DID exist in my brand new home:

- Windows installed without flashing (water leaked into the wall cavities, causes mold, rot, early demise of house)
- Drip edge material missing from roof installation (water seeps under roofing, causes mold, rot, etc.)
- Nothing supporting load bearing wall (portions of the house could have collapsed)
- Main steel I-beam supporting center of house too short (could have caused structural issues)
- Roof trusses incorrectly cut and patched (portion of roof could have collapsed over time)
- Drainage system around foundation incorrectly installed (excessive soil and water pressures could have compromised the foundation)
- Fireplace box incorrectly installed (fire hazard)

I could go on, but I think you probably get the point.

It should be noted that our city inspectors APPROVED the construction. Our builder was a highly respected custom home builder, recommended by our architect. We did a lot of research on our builder before hiring him and found nothing to give us a clue that he was a bad builder (arbitration clauses keep disputes out of public records). Our builder was NOT the low bidder.

The structural defects listed above were found DURING construction by our structural engineer. I will be forever grateful for his expertise. Looking back, no price is too great to know that we now live in a structurally sound home. I do not worry that parts of my house will collapse on my children or that mold will make them sick - because we hired a structural engineer and he pointed out things that we did not have the skills to see.

Without question, I would recommend investing whatever is necessary to have every inch of your house FULLY inspected before closing. Anyone can check to see if the stove works, if the toilet flushes. It's the stuff behind the walls that can cause you the most harm - those are the things that need an expert's evaluation.

Good advice you are getting here...
Contact your local HI (American Society of Home Inspectors
has always been my HI of choice) and make sure that your
HI is experiecned in new construction.

Independent inspectors rank higher for me than ones
who depend on real estate agencies for their work.

Best of luck & hope everything goes well!

PS Hi Suzie!

Don't count on a "warranty" afterwards, or even code enforcement during construction! New houses can have serious problems, and it's not that uncommon that they do. I can't see hardly any houses in our area, for example, that are using any window flashing. As Suzy and Energy Rater will tell you, this is a recipe for disaster. A competent expert could point out these things before you even sign a contract. At the very least don't close without making sure all defects are discovered and corrected. Your recourse later is way slimmer than you may think.

I spent 5 years of my life battling a builder and warranty company over serious defects. The codes were not enforced and he was not held accountable by the city. The warranty company's main concern is protecting the builder and avoiding paying claims. I narrowly escaped having to go into the warranty company's rigged arbitration process which would've resulted in me recovering only a fraction of my damages, (if anything). Thankfully I retained my right to sue and though we never went to court, I believe the leverage was instrumental in being able to pressure these companies to settle. (Which they eventually did.)

IMO warranties are just a sales tool to sell homes, they're not real coverage. The false sense of security can make buyers waive important legal rights, or pass up important opportunities like inspections.

Because I bought a spec house I didn't have the chance to have experts inspect during construction when my house's defects would've been visible. You have that chance--use it. You will need a qualified and ethical expert, not just any old home inspector, and certainly not one who's in the builder's or a real estate agent's hip pocket. Your experts' first concern should be you, not in making sure the sale goes thru. I would never buy any house without a good inspection, new or old.

Just FYI in case anyone doubts that new homes can have a lot of problems: This PDF which downloads says on pg. 3 that 95% of new homes have problems and not minor ones: http://www.pathnet.org/si.asp?id=1058 (It is a download, not a true link.) I also recall a few years ago Consumer Reports did a study and found 15% of new homes had at least two serious defects. The story was titled Housewrecked. Whether it's 15% or 95% that's a lot of houses that should've been inspected, and a lot of families who then have to deal with the cost and stress of legal problems, because once they have your money, few builders come back to make serious problems right.

Agree with all of above... don't accept the house until you know what you've got.

And put the HI's fee into proper perspective -- $300-$500 is about the cost of a couple light fixtures, or one small sink. It is far less than the cost of even a minor repair.