Many new homeowners purchasing new construction are surprised to hear us say that they need a home inspection before moving in. It’s easy to believe that since everything is new, there’s no reason for an inspection. But, here in the Seattle area, we encourage new homeowners to have a new construction inspection before closing and moving into their new home.

A new construction inspection ensures that nothing was missed or completed improperly during the construction of your new home. Just like a regular inspection, we check the major systems of the home, like electrical and plumbing, along with structural systems like the roof and foundation and the major appliances.

In the case of new construction inspections, we’re not looking for wear and tear or items that need to be replaced. Rather, we’re ensuring that things were built properly and installed appropriately. As a homeowner, you deserve to know that no corners were cut in the building of your home.

Though many builders include a warranty, it’s much easier to get problems taken care of before closing. Once you’ve closed on your home, you lose a lot of leverage with your builder. This often means that problems take months to get repaired. In addition, you may not notice your problems until a year or more later, and by then you may not even be able to find your builder to get the problem taken care of.

Let your builder know that you plan to have an independent new construction inspection before closing. It may make your builder give your home a little special attention to detail.

When you’re buying a home, you typically rely heavily on the inspection report to help you to determine several things. These include:

• Do I really want to buy this house, based on problems that are present?

• Are there repairs I should ask the current owner to make before closing?

• Am I prepared for the upcoming maintenance this home will require?

• Is this house solid and safe?

These are important questions, and you should feel good about the answers before you move forward in closing on your home. At Key Inspection Services, we work hard to ensure that our customers in the greater Seattle area have confidence in the homes they purchase. But, there are some items that our home inspections, and those of most other home inspectors, don’t cover. You should be aware of these areas before scheduling your home inspection. Our inspections do not include:

• Swimming pools
• Hot Tubs
• Sprinkler Systems
• Security Systems
• Audio Visual Equipment
• Fountains
• Perimeter Lighting

We’re not suggesting these items shouldn’t be inspected. We’re just letting you know that they’re not part of a routine home inspection. Our suggestion is that if the home you’re purchasing has any of these items, you might want to call in a specialist to inspect them individually, particularly if these items have some age on them.

For example, many modern swimming pools have liners. They must be replaced periodically, and the replacement can get expensive. Before you buy a home with a pool, it’s a good idea to have a pool maintenance company take a look at the liner and the filtration system. This way you’ll know how soon you’ll need to replace the liner, pump and other items that keep the pool running appropriately.

Before you buy a home, you want to gain the confidence that you’re making a good investment. Use home inspectors, both general and specialized, to ensure you’re getting all your questions answered.

Even if you’ve been present during your inspection, and have received a verbal description of all the issues your home inspector found, your report is very important.

The written inspection report not only serves as documentation for you regarding the issues you’ll be facing if you buy this house, but it also is the tool that your realtor will use to negotiate repairs. A detailed report is critical to you being able to get your seller to take care of problems.

Be sure to ask up front if your home inspector takes pictures during the inspection and includes them in the report. Pictures are great tools when it comes to convincing a seller that their home truly has a problem. Those pictures also help you out in terms of finding the problem again if you end up repairing it yourself.

In addition to the pictures, the written report should be very detailed. It should be descriptive, yet avoid industry jargon that the homebuyer and seller don’t understand.

You should also expect your home inspection report to look professional. An unprofessional home inspection report lacks credibility. This lack of credibility will be used against you as your realtor tries to negotiate repair of substandard items or a lower sales price.

At Key Inspection Services, all of our home inspectors are thoroughly trained not only in how to inspect a home, but how to write a fair, informed and professional inspection report. Our inspectors include lots of pictures to back up our findings. We are proud to create some of the most professional reports in Seattle and the surrounding areas.

We’ve all been told that we need to schedule a home or condo inspection when we sign a contract on a home. But, we may not really know what to expect from the home inspection, so we don’t know if our inspector has done a thorough job or not.

You should expect your home inspector to check every major system in your home. They will be looking at every area from the roof to the crawlspace. The inspection should take about two to three hours, depending upon the size of the home and the number of systems to be inspected.

Be sure to let your inspector know if there are any major appliances or systems that don’t go with the sale, so that he doesn’t take the time to inspect them. For example, if your seller is taking their washer and dryer with them when they move, it shouldn’t be inspected.

There are four major areas of concern for your inspector. These are:

• Safety Concerns – Unsafe electrical wiring and loose hand railings on stairs are two examples of safety concerns your inspector might raise.

• Structural Concerns – The home inspector will ensure that the home is structurally sound. He’ll be looking for cracks in the foundation, settling and problems with the roof, among other things.

• Improperly Installed Items – Your inspector will also be looking for shoddy work where installations are concerned. Loose wires and improper plumbing are just two of the areas of concern.

• Systems Nearing the End of Their Lifecycle – The heat may be working great, but if the furnace is twenty years old, you need to know it. Your home inspector will alert you to big-ticket items you’re likely to have to replace soon.

Your home inspector can offer a lot of value to you as a homebuyer. He will alert you to problems you’re likely to face after purchase of the home. Give him all the time he needs to properly inspect the house you’re planning to purchase. If you need a home inspector in the Bellevue area, be sure to give us a call. We’ll inspect every area of the home and ensure you know what you’re getting.