Why “New” Homes Need an Inspection

In this blog post, we’ll explore the common misconceptions surrounding newly built homes and shed light on the crucial reasons why a professional inspection is essential, even for brand-new properties. A common response we get as home inspectors is often “The home is brand new and has never been lived in. Why would we need an inspection?”. Unfortunately, this is a common misconception and a potentially costly one if the home goes uninspected.

Why Does my Home Need an Inspection?

Just because the house has not been lived in, does not mean it is flawless. We sometimes think a brand-new house is equivalent to a brand-new product. When we receive a new product, we expect it to not appear used, no scratches, and fully functioning. In a sense, that is what a

brand-new build is, however, think about that brand new product but it must get sent back to be worked on. Picture that this new product has some parts that needed to be updated and some finishing touches. After these finishing touches and updates, your product is not reinspected and sent back to you. This is similar to what happens to brand new construction. Often, once the final inspection is completed, the punch list details begin. As crews come and go, working on your “new product”, things get worn and torn. Let’s look at an example; A repair on some siding needed to be repaired on the roof level of the home. This requires a siding crew to walk on the roof and make several trips over the course of a few weeks to make the repair. Thus, causing some shingle damage. You decide to get your home inspection and it’s caught in your report. You request that the sellers replace the damaged shingles (not the whole roof). The sellers agree as they are most likely the builders of the home. You move into your newly built home and have an undamaged new roof.

“The home brand new and has never been lived in. Why would we need an inspection?”

Reframe; The same crew comes through, and you decide to wave the inspection. The house sells and a year in, the damaged shingles begin to leak. It takes a few weeks for you to notice and now water is entering the home. Now, not only do the shingles need replacing, the sheathing

below, insulation, and drywall need to be replaced due to water damage. A cost that is likely to be more than an entire home inspection. Usually, if water touched it, it would need to be replaced. So, who pays for this? The opportunity to have the home inspected was waived. Thus, released any liability to those who caused the mistake. This expense now becomes the home buyers.

Mistakes Happen!

Additionally, mistakes happen! Nobody is perfect and sometimes things get damaged or forgotten by human error. Sometimes, these mistakes can be costly and once you purchase the home, they become your costs. We are all human and sometimes forget and make mistakes. These aren’t intentional and do happen, however, let’s make sure these problems are fixed where they originated and not handed down to the next person. Ultimately, the decision to have a new home inspection done is personal preference. The average home inspection is around $400- $475 in Tennessee according to Houzeo. While according to Mr. Roof, “The full range of costs for roof repair and replacement in Nashville is between $3,100 and $18,600.” Let’s make sure these mistakes are caught before we purchase our new home. Call us at (865)-393-3910 or go to https://www.premierhomeinspectionllc.com/ to get a quote and schedule your inspection.