Is a Home Inspection Necessary on a Relatively New Property?
One thing that the buyer of a new-build home should always consider is not just whether they are ok with the current condition, but what about the next buyer who purchases their house down the road? Just remember, if you, the seller, don’t fix that problem now, you may end up paying for it down the road when you sell.
Last week I ran into a great example of why you need a good home inspector even for a new build. Here is what happened:
My clients found a condo in Gahanna, Ohio that was five years old, negotiated the price and had a fairly quick closing in three weeks and everything was going great. The home inspection came back with only a couple of things, one of which was a lack of insulation. After talking with my clients they were ok with the other small things, but the insulation really upset them. The reason was not that there was no insulation, but that a condo that is only five years old is expected to be up to code.
The current owner (seller) had paid for sufficient insulation and the code inspector had “said” everything was good. Upon further discussion with the home inspector, who formerly worked for a builder, I was told that some code enforcement officers do get up on a ladder and check the insulation, but that often he was asked simply, “Did you put insulation up in the attic?” and after he answered “Yes”, the inspector checked the box and moved on.
Now, at this point I’m not sure who to blame, whether it should be the code enforcement officer who we are paying to protect us, or the seller who didn’t have an inspector that got up in the attic to check things out. The one caveat that I find interesting is that the home seller did say that he had a home inspection. So one of two things happened, either the inspector/code enforcement didn’t check the insulation or someone stole half of the blown insulation in the attic.
For some reason I have been on an inspection kick the last couple weeks with my articles, but my point is that this ended up costing the seller $250, about the cost of a home inspection on a condo. The moral of the story is, always get a good home inspector and don’t think that just because it is brand new that someone else has already checked it. Especially in the situation of a new build, and usually on an existing home, you will almost always make your money back on what you spend on the home inspection and at the very least get great peace of mind on the property you are purchasing.
For more information about real estate in central Ohio email Troy or call him at 614-325-8394.