Why Should You Get a Home Inspection?
Part Three: New Homes

Our previous two blog posts have discussed the value of home inspections for both homebuyers and sellers. Many homebuyers, though, question whether or not a home inspection is really necessary if they are purchasing a new home.

There are a couple of reasons why buyers are tempted to skip an inspection on a new home. They may reason that since the home is brand new, there hasn’t been time for decay to take place. Since everything is brand new, it must be in tip-top shape, right?

Another factor that can come into play when buyers are shopping for any home, but especially a new home, is their desire to save money wherever possible. Many buyers go into the home buying process without knowledge of the many associative costs of a home purchase. They think about down payments, mortgage payments and perhaps about closing costs. For most people, these are not trivial costs. They may have saved for a long time to be in a position to purchase a home and when they are confronted with costs that they didn’t foresee – for instance, appraisal and home inspection fees – there can be a tendency to balk. “Is this really necessary?” they may wonder, particularly when the home in question is a new home.

So what are the valid reasons for getting a home inspection on a new home?

In a word – defects. Just because a home is brand new does not mean it is without defect. Even if it has passed code, significant problems can still be present in a new home. Why?

While a new home may be inspected by a municipal inspector, his inspection will not be as thorough as the kind an independent home inspector performs. Municipal inspectors will be judging a home based primarily on its code compliance, giving little attention to craftsmanship – an area that can cause serious and costly headaches down the road for the home buyer.

Blindly trusting that your home builder did everything just right is a potentially serious mistake. With an investment this important, the relatively small cost of getting a home inspection is well worth it. In short, regardless of when a home was built, a home inspection is always a smart idea.

Next time on our blog we will discuss the final subject of our home inspection series – How Can You Ensure You Get a Quality Home Inspection?