Do New Homes Need to be Inspected?

A friend recently contacted me with a question about buying a new home.  He found a home in a beautiful area and the construction on it had just been completed.  It had everything he was looking for, including the perfect surrounding property.  He was excited about it and was planning on making an offer, but a little voice in the back of his head was shouting warnings to him.

Should he request a home inspection?  On the one hand, the home was brand new.  One would think a new home would be, well, perfect, and not need an inspection.

On the other hand, my friend didn’t know the builder at all, so how could he be sure of that builder’s reputation and work history?

This is a great question, and my friend was wise to contact me with it.

I wish I could say that all new homes would pass inspection but I can’t say that in good faith.  The truth is, and many home inspectors will agree with me on this, is that many new homes would not pass a professional home inspection.  Shoddy materials, short cuts, whatever the case may be, there are plenty of new homes out there that were not built to code.

At the very least a home-buyer needs to practice due diligence and do research on the home builder.  What is his track record?  Are there any complaints about his work from previous buyers? What is his reputation in the building community?  If you do this research and are still not satisfied, then by all means have a home inspection before you buy that home.  This is just too great an investment to leave it to guesswork.

Sports Relocation, Inc. Sports Relocation, Inc assist players/coaches of all professional sports leagues including the NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and entertainers relocate nationwide by servicing their Real Estate & Relocation needs. Ikem Chukumerije is licensed to practice real estate in New York, California, Nevada, Florida, & Georgia. Sports Relocation, Inc operates nationwide and provides elite athlete relocation services in all 50 states and internationally.