I am wondering what everyone's opinion is on getting a home inspection on a brand new home.  We had the house built and watched most of the progress, but we are far from building experts.  Would getting an inspection be a waste of money (it has a 1-year warranty) or could the few hundred dollars be worth the piece of mind?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Ken

Ken,

It would be up to you if you want the inspection or not.  If you built the home then there should of been inspections by the building inspector through out the process of the home being built.  So an inspection should not be needed...but if it gives you more piece of mind then by all means have one done.

A "Certificate of Occupancy" will not be issued until the city inspects and approves final construction. This should suffice for your home inspection.

If you would like to have an inspector come out to assure the "quality" of work done, you can certainly do so for that extra piece of mind. 

kjbrown76:

I am wondering what everyone's opinion is on getting a home inspection on a brand new home.  We had the house built and watched most of the progress, but we are far from building experts.  Would getting an inspection be a waste of money (it has a 1-year warranty) or could the few hundred dollars be worth the piece of mind?

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

Ken

I'd keep the $350 in my wallet, Ken.  The only "surprises" the inspector would find would probably relate to the appliances.  Jason is right, the county inspectors would have already caught any big stuff.  And the appliances are covered by the home warranty.

Good luck on your move in!

Thanks everyone for your input.  We've decided not to get one.

I appreciate your quick responses!

I'm a little surprised by the above responses. Not that they are wrong but they do make some assumptions that most people make and that is that the city/county inspectors actually do their job to protect you. I can speak from experience that you should absolutely pay an inspector to go through your home with a fine tooth comb. Don't cheap out on a $400 inspection when you are borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars. My first house was a new home. It didn't even cross my mind to have an inspection because it was new and we watched it being built. Turns out an inspection would of saved me about $4k in the long run. We had some settling in the floor downstairs. They had put one row of concrete support pads right on the edge of a 2-3 foot edge where they had to dig down for the foundation.  The dirt was slowly eroding under the pads. Also, they should of put a sump pump in the low spot. You would THINK that the city would of caught this because as it turns out it's not code to have the pads that close to a "cliff". Also, the shingles were put in really shoddy. Anyway, I only offer this advice because of my experience and a few experiences that my friends have had. If you get a good inspector he will go through the house with you and you can have a lot of confidence that you are indeed buying a quality home.

Gotta agree with flapbreaker on this. Brand new, used, old---home inspection is a must. Too many shoddy builders. Getting a cert of occupancy isn't a guarantee that your builder is good or that the inspector is either.

I agree with Spencer.  I am a realtor in Sugar Land, TX and I remember in our training we were told that eventhough your client is buying a new house from the builder we should get home inspection done no matter what.  You will be amazed to see how many things a good home inpector can find out in that house.  Don't let $400-$500 fool you.  Get your inspection done for old or new house.

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I think it is pretty normal to go for Home Inspection when you are looking to buy home. You should never agree to buy a home without performing a home inspection. Home inspection is very important when you are planning to sell your house or even planning to buy a house. An inspector will check the roof, basement, heating system, water heater, air-conditioning system,  structure, plumbing, electrical, and many other aspects of buildings looking for improper building practices, those items that require extensive repairs, items that are general maintenance issues, as well
 as some fire and safety issues.

Well, they have decided not to get one. I hope they are right about this.

Jim

Hi,

As you have asked through your post that you are going to buy new home and prior to that you need a home inspection ? I will say yes you need it most because anybody who is going to buy new home by investing a huge amount of money of one's life time earning he must inspect it throughly prior purchasing it.