New Construction Inspections PT 2

As home inspectors, we sometimes get asked to inspect new condos.  The other day I inspected a condo for a client who was to close in four days.  Workers were still in the unit trying to finish things up.  There was a long, long list of items I found that required completion.  Some were items that you might expect, missing hardware on kitchen cabinets etc. but many were not.

One of the things a home inspector can really help with on a new construction inspection is verifying all is in order.  Buying a house or condo keeps you pretty busy, and by hiring a home inspector for a few hundred dollars they can do a methodical inspection of all the supposedly perfect things in your new house.

The example from the other day was a condo in Ohio City.  If your house was built in the winter, you can bet the furnace was installed to help dry the drywall work.  Unfortunately you can also bet that no filters were installed in your furnace, and that as the drywall was sanded and the house was swept (over and over) that your furnace saw the brunt of this.  We often find brand new furnaces caked with construction dirt.  The ductwork will also be subject to this.  Who checks the ductwork on a brand new house?  The home inspector does.

In this instance, due to the economy, this condo project, which was new construction within the walls of 100 year old building had seen a very long delay between start and finish of the units.  The furnace, air conditioner and hot water tank, besides being filthy, were all almost 6 years old when I inspected them.  Questions are raised in this situation: will the warranties be honored?  If not, perhaps the builder can purchase a warranty on these mechanicals.

The bottom line is that inspections on new construction can save you problems and money, just as they can on older homes.  My advice is don't skimp on an inspection under any circumstances.