Bought a New Build? Here's Why a Second Home Inspection is So Important
The process of purchasing a new build can be an exciting, albeit daunting process. After months of working with your realtor to figure out exactly what you need in your next house, getting pre-qualified for a home loan, sifting through listings, touring houses and model homes in person, deciding on a house, waiting for your house to be built, and finally closing, the process can be, well— overwhelming.
The good news? After all of the hard work that goes into purchasing your new build, when it’s built and the purchase has been finalized, you’re left with a beautiful new home that is built well and, often, matches your specifications. But even in homes that are built with the strictest guidelines, mistakes can happen and pieces may need to be touched up. This makes home inspections an extremely important tool.
Although new builds typically have an initial home inspection upon completion of construction, before closing, the fact is that homes often have issues months in. As homes settle, cracks in stucco can happen, minor issues can make themselves known, and items that were supposed to stand the test of time (at least initially) simply don’t hold up well and need to be fixed.
Most new builds come with a one year “bumper to bumper” warranty that makes fixing these laggard issues an easier process. Even better? These fixes typically cost the buyer nothing, since they’re covered under the warranty paperwork.
After you’ve had your home for a year, and your warranty is about to close out it’s extremely important to schedule another home inspection to help make the most of your warranty. Why? Because all of the issues that pop up past the initial inspection, and that are a result of your home aging (even just a year) can be fixed under your warranty, typically at no cost to you. This is huge, especially considering the potential costs that can go into one’s first year of home ownership (think new furniture, landscaping, decorating fees, etc.).
Specifically, there are a few reasons that make paying the money for a second inspection so crucial, including:
Maximizing Your Warranty
At the end of the day, you’ve made a huge investment in your home. Not to mention, it’s a cost that will require additional maintenance costs for years to come. With that in mind, you’ll want to make sure you’re making the absolute most of the warranty period you have. Why? Because things in your house (both big and small) can, and will, break. Paying the few hundred dollars it costs to have a second inspection can help to uncover those issues, get them repaired by your home builder, and ensure that you’re in a good spot when your warranty expires.
Things Break Over Time
You might think to yourself that it’s only been a year. What could possibly go that wrong in such a short amount of time? But the fact is, those constructing your home are human. Things can be installed incorrectly, in a way that causes them to wear exponentially in a short amount of time, or simply be poor quality (causing them to break fast). Beyond that, manufacturing errors can occur, wear can happen from simply living in the house, and seemingly small things can begin to add up quickly. Paying for a second inspection is a way to catch all of these things and, in many cases, catch them before they become an even bigger, more costly issue. Sure, traditional wear and tear happens. But why not get as much of that taken care of within your warranty period as possible?
Small Costs Add Up
You might think that seemingly small issues (like a short crack in the wall or an outlet that doesn’t work) isn’t a huge deal. But, think about all of the wall space, hardware, and electric features in your home. There’s a lot of room for small things to falter. And while that may not mean a full-on break, you can certainly count on a number of little things that happen throughout the course of a year that, inevitably, will add up. Why not take care of those items with your home warranty vs. coming out of pocket? The problem is that, if you can’t identify all of these things, you can’t call them out to your builder and get them fixed. This makes a second home inspection a must.
A Second (Professional) Pair of Eyes is Key
Let’s say you decided not to get a second inspection, and simply go off of the items that you see. Chances are, there are huge things that a professional home inspector would check (and catch) that you may not even know about. Home inspectors are trained in the art of digging deep. A good one will go through an extensive checklist of features and locations in your home, testing everything from plumbing to switch functionality to hardware. And, while you can certainly compile a list of things that you see with your own eyes, you don’t know what you don’t know. Why not make a small investment into someone that knows homes inside and out.
Sure, locking in a second home inspection will cost you a bit more of your time and money. But, in the grand scheme of things, the benefits far outweigh the few hundred dollars in investment that you’ll spend (not to mention the peace of mind).
Small issues in your home may not seem like a big deal at the time— but often, these can lead to much bigger issues that will cost more to repair over time. After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on your brand new home, why not make sure that you can save by being proactive? And more, taking advantage of your home warranty that you paid for, as part of your home cost.
