New Construction Inspections

We have requested and contracted an independent home inspector for a new home (new constuction) for our family. The inspector wants to meet with me before our "walk-thru" with the builder and give his report so we can check it all out. He would prefer the inspection to take about 2 to 3 hours with just he and I. The realtor is pressing me to combine the inspection with the walk thru. The inspector says that builders often are in a bit of a hurry and want to move it along so he prefers to work with the client first. What is the norm??? the agent says they can be combined... the inspector says he prefers them being separate... my attorney says go with the inspector.....what do i do,,,the closing is moving up fast and although i respect the builder's reputation i know he was not present for much of the sub-contracting... help! We really want this to work out as we love the house....
Bill & Cathy

This may be too late to help you but you need to listen to your inspector. As a home inspector and a builder, I have been on both sides of this. In fact many good builders insist that the inspection be done ahead of time.

If you are trying to get the inspection and the "walk trough" at the same time, it will be a nightmare. The builder's representative is going to be arguing with the inspector over each issue he brings up. It will take several hours and get so confusing that nobody can remember what happened.

Plan the inspection for the morning and the "walk through" for the afternoon. That way you can allow the inspector to do his job and provide you with a good solid understanding of the condition of the home. When you meet with the builder, you will know exactly what to bring up and make sure the deficiencies are corrected.

Robert Sole
REM Inspections LLC
www.REMinspections.com

Okay, My father passed away the day his house was set. His best friend who was running the job for him called me to give me the bad news, and an, oh, you're not gonna like this, but you have to be here tommorrow for the final walk through.
My dad's friend is very loyal, and used to run a construction business, and his son works for another modular home company. They both are advicates for my father, and his friend is in charge of the estate, partly by my agreement, and partly by his commitment to promises he made my father.
While the man has shown no signs of lessening his intensity to do right by me father and me, I believe we are need of some serious help.
The first walk through left some things that needed to be resolved.
Issues included electric baseboard heating that was poorly installed and undersized, nailing on the shingels that was hap-hazard at best, flip brackets nail gunned through the brackets, hurricane ties not nailed on both ends, cabinets not installed correctly, many annoying waves in the drywall (not cracks from contstruction),and of course a dented door. Most of these issues are left unresolved and we are taking the builder to a majestrate with written affidivates from the set crew owner concerning the roof. Since then I have discovered many other problems, including sub-standard wiring (e.g. cheating by using 12-2, instead of 12-3 for 220 circuits, a heater breaker that keeps tripping, three way stwitches all over the house returning voltages from 20 volts, to 110 on different legs, and difference in between, the smoke alarms won;t stop beeping, the garage is set wrong so that door spaces and the sill won't line up, many plumbing blunders, even though all they did was install the fixtures and not run the piping, kitchen shelves that don't fit, and single hung windows instead of the stated double hungs.
My question is, before I allow the estate lawyer to pressure me into taking ownership, what can I do? Would it be in my best interest to pay for an extremely thorough inspection of this house and possibly have it condemned? Can a payed inspector have it condemned, and what are the repricussions of this action?

Whatever you do, do not accept the home as it is. Have a professional home inspector do an inspection on the home. Make sure you point out the items you mentioned. Also provide him with the contracted specifications so he can verify that items are not as contracted (ie. the double hung windows).

When you get the report, send it by certified mail to the contractor and tell them that you will not close on the property until those items have been corrected. It would probably be a good idea to have the inspector re-inspect the home to verify the corrections have been properly repaired. You will probably be surprised at how quickly the repairs can be done.

Worst case, you have an uninterested party verifying the deficiencies. This will make the difference if they try to push you into closing. You may have to get your own attorney involved if they try to declare that you are in default. At any rate, the professional inspection report will give you the edge in any negotiations.

Robert Sole

REM Inspections LLC
www.REMinspections.com