Many people elect to buy a newly-constructed home in the belief that they will escape most of the problems associated with older homes, and that the new home will be free of serious defects. They are encouraged in this belief by the builder's warranty, thinking any defects in construction will be minor and quickly repaired at no cost to the home buyer. One has only to take note of the phenomenal surge in lawsuits between builders and home buyers to realize that the complexities of new home construction bring their own kind of risks.
We believe that anyone buying a newly-constructed home should have it inspected by an independent, professional inspection company no matter who builds the home, and irrespective of the warranty extended by the builder. The wisdom behind this advice comes from our many years of practical experience in the home inspection business.
Even the most conscientious and experienced builder will make unintentional mistakes or oversights that can impact on the structural and systems integrity of a new home. Part of the problem lies in the increasing complexity of new home construction, and the financial pressures that force an accelerated pace of construction. "Haste makes waste," remember? Add to that the constantly changing building codes and oftentimes over-worked City Inspectors, and the door is wide open for serious problems and omissions.
New home construction has become more complex because of the continuing introduction of new materials and components which, if installed improperly or fail to meet stated performance standards, can result in structural damage or systems failures. Many class action law suits have been filed calling into question items such as siding defects, moisture intrusion, mold accumulation, plumbing failures and stucco problems, to name a few.
Endemic to new home construction are the defects incurred due to omissions. Visit a building site where a new house is under construction and take note of the dozens of individuals at work. Re-visit the site a week later and you will see dozens more at work, and usually they are not the same workers you saw on your first visit. Framers, roofers, plumbers, electricians and a host of others are coming and going to the site every day for weeks on end. Each group of tradesmen probably works for a different sub-contractor. They are concerned only with their particular job assignment and usually pay little or no attention to the work being done by other trade groups. Theoretically, all of the work on the house is being supervised by a site superintendent who works for the builder. But when 10, 20, or more homes are all under construction at one time, and under the supervision of the same superintendent, and literally hundreds of subcontracted workers are flowing in and out of the site, it is easy for a superintendent to miss something. A mistake may be made, but before the superintendent has an opportunity to check it, it can be covered-up by other work. The same problem exists for the City Inspector, who visits the site to check for building code compliance. The Inspector is time-pressed just like the superintendent and the subcontractors. The builder, his superintendent, the subcontractors and the City Inspector are all relying on each other, and the situation is ripe for errors or omission. In some regions, it has been reported that the quality of construction has dropped dramatically because of overwhelmed City Inspectors and Superintendents. Recent studies in Orlando & New Jersey have found that some City Inspectors are conducting as many as 60 inspections per day.
Also, turnover is high among housing construction workers and just about every crew has one or more workers with little or no experience. These novices are learning their trade, and they make mistakes. Sometimes they leave things out or install things improperly, and unless it is caught and corrected by their supervisor, the damage or condition remains.
Unfortunately, the builder's warranty is not the answer to the challenge the home buyer faces in protecting his investment. In practical terms, the builder's warranty is a marketing device to further the sale of the home. The actual definition of a structural defect under a ten-year builder’s warranty is, "Actual physical damage to a load bearing element of a home which makes the home unsafe, unsanitary and unlivable". In other words, your home must be in such structural disrepair that you cannot live there anymore before any warranty claims can be made. Now this is not to say that warranties will not fix a problem.
Call-backs to fix problems are expensive and time-consuming for the builder. So the builder is waiting for YOU, the owner, to invoke the terms of the warranty. In other words, it is YOU who must discover the omissions or shoddy work and then demand the repair. A leaking pipe, a squeaking staircase, or a light fixture that doesn't work are easy to spot. But many omissions and defects will not reveal themselves so easily, or within the 12-month warranty period. The newly-constructed home will not exhibit the historical settlement data that is so valuable in determining defects in an older house. It has not set long enough to exhibit the effects of the various stresses and loads imposed on the various components. Veteran home inspectors will quickly confirm that it is far easier to identify the defects of a 50-year old house than a new one because of the performance data that is available to a visual inspection. The passage of time also produces performance data related to waterproof membranes such as roof coverings, moisture intrusion issues which occur due to inadequate sealants and flashing, tile enclosure issues due to improperly installed tile, drywall and plumbing systems, to mention a few. Experienced inspectors are trained to identify visible issue that can pose a problem later. It is for this reason that your choice of inspector is critical.
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