The Expert Podcast

…So do you need a home inspection for a new home In fact. A lot of times people look at a home inspector or something you hire when you're purchasing a resale or, a pre-owned home. But a new home. Might actually be more applicable and even easier to do. Then a resale home, how would it work? Well, if you're contracting with a builder, To build you a new home. You may want to have that inspector visit the build site two or three times during the construction Maybe once when the concrete is poured for the foundation. Once. the framing is done once after rough-in is done meaning that. Electrical wires and plumbing is put into the walls. And maybe installation. And maybe once when the finished work is starting to be done that. Drywall the dry end of the roof. Sophos eaves. And the reason why is because many defects of a house or not even just defects but substandard work. Might be hidden behind drywall…If you have an inspector look at the process as it's being done, you can make sure that it's being done properly now. Certainly. The government is going to inspect that house as it's being built to sign off on permits and approvals…However there are some things which may not be picked up on by the. Government may be legal but it may not be part of your contract meaning that if they're supposed to be a certain number of stud bays in the wall or a certain size headers above windows, even though what's being put in might be legal. It may not be…Matching what the contract says on your build sheet…You may also find building procedures that. Technically conform to the builder requirements of your county. But are not best practices for quality builds. Also your inspector might be able to take photos. Of behind the wall construction. So later on if you're looking to add, let's say, Something hanging on the wall you know where the studs are, you know where openings are that could open up a room. You have a record of where the wires are. And the spectrum can document all this Could you do it yourself Certainly you could do all the the taking the pictures as you go and you probably want to do that anyways. but an inspector not only is kind of just take a passive photo. They may have some active suggestions. On how to improve the build. So that your home is either higher quality or higher usability as an example. When you're putting up a wall. You have vertical studs inside the wall. If you put up. Different types of mounting brackets behind the wall called ledger boards or cleats depending on. You know what part of the country you're in. You may be able to have some horizontal. Facing boards that you can nail into, maybe at a certain height maybe you put them there to hang your cabinets in your kitchen. Maybe you put them behind a wall where you know you might add some custom built. Materials afterwards like a bookcase. Your. Inspector might suggest that and it might cost you a little more money with the builder but while they're working on the house as a cheap time to do it, They may also find. Technical. Violations that have caught early…So the inspector doesn't reject it. You might have The ability to avoid delays on your delivery of your home. If your inspector finds them And the builder can repair or fix the problem before the County building inspector sees it. You might not have to wait two or three weeks for another inspection. We've seen a lot with plumbing where the wrong types of transitions from event let's say were put in place. And the inspector found it. The private inspector. The builder fixed it so that when the city inspector came, it was sailed through. They didn't have to fix it and come back two weeks later. So consider that Well it cost you a little more money Sure Might cost you a few hundred bucks every time they come out, they come out three times, you're talking seven 800 bucks. But you're talking about a home that could be worth a half a million dollars that you're going to live in for 10, 20, 30 years. Spending a few hundred bucks an hour or close to a thousand might be a good investment To make sure that you have peace of mind and also a higher quality build an inspector A lot of times can suggest things that may not even cost more money. But could be. Really good tricks to have your house be more usable. Be safer. Be higher quality. And have more knowledge Of Best practices on that build Let us know what you think in the comments.