Do You Need a Real Estate Agent For New Construction Homes?

As a home inspector, I see this issue all the time.  When we get a call for an inspection of a new construction home, one of the questions we ask is if the buyer has an agent.  Looking back, it seems about half of the buyers we work with do have an agent.  Our experience has always been, that when the buyer has an actively involved buyer's agent representing them, the process of buying a new construction home is much smoother.  Recently, we saw this very issue play out in an ideal situation to show the difference.  Two buyers were buying new construction homes in the same development, and working with the same builder.  The first buyer, had an agent.  The second didn't.  We did inspections on both of these homes, and found a very similar problem in both homes.  In the first one, the condensate line from the air conditioner was broken in the attic, and condensate water was leaking out into the attic and had damaged a large area of the ceiling drywall.  This water showed up great on the thermal image we took of the ceiling.

After this buyer's agent brought the issue to the builder, the damaged drywall was quickly removed, the condensate line was repaired, and everything put back together.  I don't think the closing was even delayed.  

The second buyer was a friend of the first, and she referred Veteran Home Inspections to them, and we went out to do the inspection.  Or at least we tried to.  The first time we went out, the builder had scheduled interior painting for the same time as the inspection.  Well, we can't do an inspection while the painters are there with spray paint equipment, so we had to reschedule.  Since I was there anyways, I took a quick look around, and found that the condensate line for the air conditioner wasn't even hooked up, and was just pouring water all over the upstairs bathroom, inside the cabinet, and draining into the master closet ceiling.  Here's an image of the water in the master closet.  Again, the purple shows the extent of the water intrusion.  

Unfortunately, the second buyer didn't have an agent representing him, and the builder took advantage of that.  They only cut out small holes in the ceiling to allow the drywall to "dry out" and they refused to replace the bathroom vanity that had significant water damage already showing.  They eventually forced this client to close on the house before I was able to get in to verify that everything was repaired.

Remember, these are both buyers with the same builder, in the same neighborhood.  The inspections were within a few weeks of each other, and the only difference was the agent the first buyer had.

So, if you are looking to buy a house, either new or pre-owned, make sure you have an agent working for you.  The seller (or builder) pays this cost out of their proceeds, so there really isn't much disadvantage to working with your own agent.  

I hope this little example also convinces you that even if you're buying a new construction home, you need to get it inspected by your own inspector.  Hopefully if you are in the San Antonio or Texas Hill Country area, you will call us to do your inspection, but even if you don't, make sure you call someone that is working only for you.

You can book your new construction foundation, pre-drywall, final, and 11-month warranty inspections online at www.vhillc.com, or call us 24/7 at 210-202-1974.

Do I need an inspection for new construction homes?

In short, YES!

With the amount of new construction going on in this area, an inspection on new construction is critical.  First and foremost, outside of the major cities, there isn’t any code enforcement.  In other words, the city or county doesn’t inspect the builders work.  Some builders will hire their own inspectors to check up on their work, but this is really not sufficient.  I have seen these inspectors on site, and to be honest, I was not impressed.  They work for the builder, and therefore, are beholden to them.  Some have even outright lied and tried to tell buyers that the city inspected it, when they are outside city limits.

Most new construction contracts allow for 2-3 inspections throughout the building process.  The most common are pre-drywall and pre-closing (or final) inspection.  Some will also allow for slab inspections.  Make sure you get an inspector in at every opportunity, as we always find issues.  If you are presented with a contract that limits inspections to less than these, don’t sign it.  Also, beware of clauses that may restrict the inspector.  One large builder recently tried to prevent inspectors from things like inspecting the roof, opening the electric panel, and running appliances.  I think they were publicly shamed into changing their stance on that though (but if you get something like this, let me know).  Also, make sure you can pick your inspector.  Some will try to steer you to the blind inspector that never finds anything major.  We’ve had a couple builders try to blacklist us because we found too much, but thankfully (for our customers) they didn’t succeed.

So, what do we find on new construction?  Just over the last few months we’ve found issues with just about every major component.  Missing rebar in the foundation, damaged and improperly installed roofs, framing deficiencies, improper gas lines, electrical issues galore, heat registers that weren’t hooked up, plumbing leaks too numerous to count, missing insulation, and dangerous decks.

Another inspection that people are starting to get more frequently, is the 11-month warranty inspection.  Almost every new home comes with a 1-year warranty.  Make sure you get an inspection at the 11 month mark, so that we can not only find hidden issues that may have popped up, but we can also document that they were there before the warranty expired.

We know that you are spending a lot of money for your new home, and an inspection is just one more expense.  I can honestly say though, that we have never found less in needed repairs than our fee.  We do offer discounted packages for more than one inspection on a new construction house.

To schedule your new construction home inspection, call 210-202-1974 or visit www.vhillc.com to schedule online.