New build tips and tricks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try to get a thorough home inspection. In VA, anyone can claim to be a home inspector. I always look for one that is part of American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI).

New builds can be tricky to evaluate. Many builders of a new house built on speculation ("spec house") focus money, time, and attention to finish items (examples: appliances, flooring, crown mould) that buyers can readily see. Many cut corners on the structure and on other things hidden behind drywall. It is important to remember building code is the minimum quality needed for safety. A really good quality house will be built better than the building code requires.

If possible, look closely at the insides of a house by the same builder that is not yet finished and does not yet have dry wall in place. That isn't ideal, but it is better than not looking at such an under construction house.

Arthitect here. Home inspectors (AsHi cert means squat) are incompetent and miss so much. A joke. Good laughs for the builders. I recommend getting specialists to inspect the most critical items. Specifically, hire PE engineers to inspect your foundation, framing, grading - these are some the most critical components and inspectors can’t discern between a benign vs ominous crack in your foundation - a structural PE will know and will stamp their seal - this means something. The builder will respect that and it holds up in court. The home inspector, not. Read your home inspector report- the “inspector” absolve themselves of ALL liability. WTF? The PE hold a state license plus years of formal education, training. It will cost a bit more but well worth it imo

We're past the point where an inspector could see framing or insulation, etc. It's all closed up. The foundation doesn't have cracks, at least anywhere visible and the rest is behind drywall or buried underground. I'm not sure what I'd be hiring them to even look at. If there was a crack, I'd have them take a look.

This. And good luck finding a PE willing to do a home inspection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people buying new homes only looking at the finishes. Builders know this and will cut corners or cover up what giddy buyers can’t see (or care about oftentimes). The structural is absolutely critical, flaws you will live with - the cosmetic is vanity and most often homeowners upgrade at 15 years or so.

. Hmm...The big three for us are location, lot and layout. Then a reputable builder.

Unless you do a much more expensive custom build, I'm not sure there are big differences in the structure of available spec homes in Arlington from the listed builders.

We have looked at several under construction spec houses before the drywall was up. We also have seen flipped spec houses being built nearby over the 8-12 months of construction.

We saw a lot of variability in the quality of the structure, the water proofing, the exterior side wall construction, and how long the foundation concrete was allowed to cure before framing started. There are lots of opportunities for a spec house builder to cut corners in a way that is not visible after the construction is finished.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it partly depends how long one plans to keep the house?

Most will last 10 years. Many spec houses will have issues visible by 20 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it partly depends how long one plans to keep the house?

Most will last 10 years. Many spec houses will have issues visible by 20 years.

Any of these homes will last longer than 10 years.

20 years? Even the most perfectly built house will require maintenance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it partly depends how long one plans to keep the house?

Most will last 10 years. Many spec houses will have issues visible by 20 years.

I'm not sure there's evidence to support your point here. I'm not aware of houses that were built 20 years ago with significant issues. It's mostly standard home maintenance stuff that should be expected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it partly depends how long one plans to keep the house?

Most will last 10 years. Many spec houses will have issues visible by 20 years.

Any of these homes will last longer than 10 years.

20 years? Even the most perfectly built house will require maintenance.

Not referring to routine maintenance. Any house will need routine maintenance all along.

Issues relating to build quality. It will vary from house to house / builder to builder, obviously. Impossible to predict if only looking after the house is all closed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it partly depends how long one plans to keep the house?

Most will last 10 years. Many spec houses will have issues visible by 20 years.

Any of these homes will last longer than 10 years.

20 years? Even the most perfectly built house will require maintenance.

Not referring to routine maintenance. Any house will need routine maintenance all along.

Issues relating to build quality. It will vary from house to house / builder to builder, obviously. Impossible to predict if only looking after the house is all closed up.

Even the most perfectly built house could have issues at 20 years. I'd expect it to have something. Nothing lasts forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try to get a thorough home inspection. In VA, anyone can claim to be a home inspector. I always look for one that is part of American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI).

New builds can be tricky to evaluate. Many builders of a new house built on speculation ("spec house") focus money, time, and attention to finish items (examples: appliances, flooring, crown mould) that buyers can readily see. Many cut corners on the structure and on other things hidden behind drywall. It is important to remember building code is the minimum quality needed for safety. A really good quality house will be built better than the building code requires.

If possible, look closely at the insides of a house by the same builder that is not yet finished and does not yet have dry wall in place. That isn't ideal, but it is better than not looking at such an under construction house.

Arthitect here. Home inspectors (AsHi cert means squat) are incompetent and miss so much. A joke. Good laughs for the builders. I recommend getting specialists to inspect the most critical items. Specifically, hire PE engineers to inspect your foundation, framing, grading - these are some the most critical components and inspectors can’t discern between a benign vs ominous crack in your foundation - a structural PE will know and will stamp their seal - this means something. The builder will respect that and it holds up in court. The home inspector, not. Read your home inspector report- the “inspector” absolve themselves of ALL liability. WTF? The PE hold a state license plus years of formal education, training. It will cost a bit more but well worth it imo

We're past the point where an inspector could see framing or insulation, etc. It's all closed up. The foundation doesn't have cracks, at least anywhere visible and the rest is behind drywall or buried underground. I'm not sure what I'd be hiring them to even look at. If there was a crack, I'd have them take a look.

This. And good luck finding a PE willing to do a home inspection.

There are plenty of PE/structural engineers who perform new home inspections. Most charge between $400-800 per visit and opinion then an additional $300 to write up a report with their stamp seal. Ever heard of Google or ChatGPT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it partly depends how long one plans to keep the house?

Most will last 10 years. Many spec houses will have issues visible by 20 years.

Any of these homes will last longer than 10 years.

20 years? Even the most perfectly built house will require maintenance.

Not referring to routine maintenance. Any house will need routine maintenance all along.

Issues relating to build quality. It will vary from house to house / builder to builder, obviously. Impossible to predict if only looking after the house is all closed up.

Even the most perfectly built house could have issues at 20 years. I'd expect it to have something. Nothing lasts forever.

If perfectly built, well above code, then very unlikely to have a significant problem at 20 years.

If poorly built, definitely some significant problem in 10-20 years.

[Anonymous]

This may be a repeat as I did not read all the responses.

If you have a 1 year warranty, get a second home inspection just before. After living in the house, you might notice things feel wobbly in the shower (I think we had a cut joist) or the range hood vent doesn’t sit correctly. Not things that were found initially but we asked our inspector about all the things we thought were weird during the year and the builder had to fix some.

[Anonymous]

Oh we also had a y-connector for the vents of two bathrooms that we had fixed in one house. So moisture wasn’t being removed efficiently.