ORLANDO HOME INSPECTIONS
Serving the Orlando Florida area including Orange, Seminole, Northern Osceola and Southwestern Volusia Counties
New Home Construction
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Buying a brand new home? That's great! Unlike an older home, at least will not have to worry about the condition of the home since it is brand new and no body has ever lived in it.
Right?
It would be great if that were the case. Unfortunately, that usually is not true. The fact is that you are at the mercy of the superintendent who is in charge of building your home. Don't get me wrong, there are many very good superintendents out there. The problem is that you can't be sure you are dealing with one of the good ones.
Too often the builders hire someone as a superintendent who is very inexperienced. These superintendents do not have the experience to know when things are being done correctly. They have to rely on the contractors they are working with to do things correctly. These contractors are paid by the job so the quicker they get one job finished, they get to start another one. They have an incentive to cut corners where they can so they can make more money.
Add to that, most of the superintendents receive bonuses based on how quickly the home is completed. Taking the extra time to check each step of the construction and bring the contractor back to make any corrections may mean that the superintendent looses several hundred dollars in bonus on that house.
Too often the builders hire someone as a superintendent who is very inexperienced. These superintendents do not have the experience to know when things are being done correctly. They have to rely on the contractors they are working with to do things correctly. These contractors are paid by the job so the quicker they get one job finished, they get to start another one. They have an incentive to cut corners where they can so they can make more money.
Add to that, most of the superintendents receive bonuses based on how quickly the home is completed. Taking the extra time to check each step of the construction and bring the contractor back to make any corrections may mean that the superintendent looses several hundred dollars in bonus on that house.
This is not a combination that works in the favor of the home buyer!
I have worked as a Quality Control Manager for two different home builders but they had one thing in common. They wanted the homes built correctly...unless it took too long. Every time I said that construction on a home had to stop so that defects could be corrected, I had to argue with everyone from the Superintendent to the Project Manger to the Area Manager as to why it was necessary to stop progress on the home.
I usually won the argument. But that was only because I could show them sufficient defects. The point is that if it had not been for me discovering the problems (and being willing to fight to get them corrected), these defects would have been covered up and left until the new homeowner wondered why he had major cracks in his ceiling or his living room flooded.
I usually won the argument. But that was only because I could show them sufficient defects. The point is that if it had not been for me discovering the problems (and being willing to fight to get them corrected), these defects would have been covered up and left until the new homeowner wondered why he had major cracks in his ceiling or his living room flooded.
Doesn't the city or county inspect the home?
Yes the home has to be inspected by the building inspector. What you have to keep in mind is that the building inspector is only looking to see if the home meets the minimum standards of the building code. He is not concerned about the quality of the workmanship. Also in most cases, the building inspector will have to make 20 to 30 inspections each day. He usually has only 20 minutes or so to spend in each home. That is not enough time to catch every defect.
What can a Home Inspection do?
A home inspector will spend much more time making sure that everything is done right. In addition to just checking to see that the home is built to code (the minimum requirements), he will also look at the workmanship. Armed with his report, you can go to the builder and demand that the corrections be made before they are covered up.
You will not have the hidden defects to come back and haunt you later!
You will not have the hidden defects to come back and haunt you later!
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