We get it – buying a house seems to come with endless expenses that add up awfully quick. This is especially true when you’re close to the finish line. Taxes, inspection fees, movers fees, et cetera.
What’s worse is when you move into a home only to discover unforeseen or undisclosed issues that end up costing you bucketloads. This is especially likely when you opt out of hiring a home inspector. Some people presume that home inspections are less important when buying a new home. There’s no reason a brand new home should have any major problems, right? Wrong. Getting a home inspection on a new home is just as important as on any other home, and here’s why.
New homes have problems, too
There’s a common misconception that a new home – simply because it is new – must be problem free. In reality, new homes can have just as many problems as old ones. Major problems with old homes need to be disclosed to new owners by law. But with new homes, any undisclosed problems are typically unknown. Nobody has lived in the house yet, and Q/A may not have caught some issues from construction. It doesn’t mean that anyone involved in the building/inspecting process is out to get you. It simply means that if any issues go undetected, you’re the one who’s going to discover them.
Building a house is also a complex process that involves numerous different contractors and contracting companies, none of whom work for you. These contractors also don’t necessarily communicate with each other, which can lead to foundational problems in the home. Drywall, beams, HVAC and plumbing systems, roofs and attics, and countless other fundamental components are being built/installed at this stage. Your local kelowna home inspection company can be your eye on the ground, making sure all the different involved parties managed to bring everything together correctly.
Municipal inspections only cover the bare minimum
A lot of people falsely assume that municipal inspections are roughly the same as a typical home inspection. Municipal inspections only cover the absolute bare minimum, and ensure the building meets only basic building codes. These inspectors don’t work for you, and they don’t always catch every error. Furthermore, they are not required to inspect aspects of your home that you’d probably consider vital as a tenant, but are not covered by the municipal inspector. For example, municipal inspectors typically do not inspect attics or roofing. The overall inspection is much less comprehensive. That means if contracted roofers or installers make a roofing error or, for example, fail to install insulation in the attic, you won’t know about these problems until after you move in, at which point those problems will be yours alone. You can get a much more in depth home inspection.
Ideally, a new home should actually get two inspections. One during construction, and one after completion. If you’re buying a home that’s still being built, you’re actually in a unique position to have an especially in depth inspection. Hiring an inspector before the walls and insulation go up give your inspector a unique look at the foundational structures that most home inspectors simply don’t have. You can have problems in the home dealt with as they come up, rather than being forced to deal with costly fixes down the road. Even if you’re new home is already built, you can opt for a home inspection contingency on your sales contract. Either way, don’t make the mistake of skipping out on a home inspection of a new home – it’s just as important.
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