Pennywise & Pound Foolish...
How many times have we heard the old adage, “Don’t be pennywise and pound foolish.” When it comes to purchasing a new home, the financial costs can steadily mount as one has to fork out money for
insurance, title searches, miscellaneous fees and, OH yes, home inspections.
When purchasing a new home from an ‘on site builders agent’, many folks tend to forgo this phase of the home buying process. Bear in mind that the ‘on site agent’ works for and represents the builder not you. Yes, they have to do what is required by law, but some try to down play the inspection phase by claiming that the municipal codes department has done its job and has 'inspected the property' several times prior to issuing the CO (Certificate of Occupancy). This may be true, but just because a property has been issued a CO doesn't mean that it is problem free.
Most homes that are on the market today that were built between the ‘building boom’ years of 2003 – 2007 were never inspected by an independent home inspector. And therein lays the problem. Many issues I find with these properties could have been easily repaired on the builder’s dime had the property undergone an inspection at the time of initial sale.
Many of these construction problems can now cost you, the homeowner, several thousand of dollars to repair. Not exactly what you have in mind when trying to sell your home in today’s tough
economy.
In all my years of inspecting homes, I have yet to see a ‘Codes inspector’ go into the crawl space and that is where my team of inspectors and I find most construction deficiencies. So, when purchasing a new construction property, don't be Pennywise and Pound Foolish. The cost of having an inspection on new construction is minimal as compared to what you may have to spend down the road. And that is my 2¢’s worth for today...
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