First Homes (What to look for in walk throughs)

[Gclyde28]

Looking for advice on upcoming walk throughs for our first home (new construction).

Closing date is 3/30. First walk through is 3/23 and final walk through is 3/29. I received all those dates on Monday of this week.

One area of concern was water was apparently on in the house during the freeze and a pipe busted in the attic over the study. They repaired that and all the floor trim. Sheet rock is unknown but will be asking. What other items should I look at? Builder/loan company has a inspector running through before the first walk through. I looked into getting my own but the guy I spoke to was pretty concerned that enough would be done by then for me to get my full money worth (appreciated the honesty). I asked the builder if what the condition of the house would be in by then but seemed like he stepped around the question and said the inspector has to have his report to them before the first walk through and they will only address code items. (Sound normal?)
Progress has been very slow until last Thursday when I made a big ordeal about it because I only locked in my rate 19 days before closing and rates have only been going up since the end of Feb. This cost me to the tune of 10-12k over the life of the loan. So not sure how much will be there to inspect/see by the first walk through.

I am obviously very green to this experience so open to all advice. Thank you.

I would not want the builder that built the house hiring my inspector. I want my inspector to be looking out on my behalf since I'm paying him.

If you find punch items you want corrected, make the builder correct them before you move in if possible. Be firm and hold them to it that you want to move in to a 100% completed home.

[Heath]

How long is your builder warranty? I know people that like to wait on the inspection until they’re a couple months out from the warranty being up. Inspect it at that point and get everything addressed for peace of mind before it’s expired. Who is your builder?

We did this on our new build. We had an inspection done two months before the builder warranty was up to fix any issues before it ran out. This was in addition to asking for items to be fixed before we closed.

[Agdog]

If you do go the inspector route be sure to hire one that does thermal imaging. You can look for signs of moisture damage and ensure that your insulation is where it should be in your exterior walls. I would also have someone snake your drains all the way past your cleanout. On occasion painters rags end up in the lines and cause a backup once you start flushing tp. I’ve seen bricks end up in the cleanout if it isn’t capped immediately during construction.

[Agdog]

One more thing I thought of. Join the neighborhood social media page and find out if there are any reoccurring issues in the neighborhood. A lot of your quality is going to be based on the abilities and attention to detail of your on site builder. If you have one that your neighbors love, chances are he’s doing his job well. If they tell you communication goes out the door after closing, you know what to look out for and can adjust accordingly.

[rossn2]

Why are there water pipes overhead? You having a two-story house built?
Ensure no water pipes overhead cross over light fixtures in the celling. Ensure overhead pipes are insulated, same goes if they installed the water heater (blanket) in the attic..

[BlackoutRam2500]

Progress has been very slow until last Thursday when I made a big ordeal about it because I only locked in my rate 19 days before closing and rates have only been going up since the end of Feb. This cost me to the tune of 10-12k over the life of the loan. So not sure how much will be there to inspect/see by the first walk through.



I am obviously very green to this experience so open to all advice. Thank you.

Be careful with this one. Sounds a lot like what folks in the home building industry call a "slam". My wife used to be a builder (she worked for couple of the biggest ones) Also built our house a couple of years ago. At the end there is a tendency to "slam the house" or rush to get crap done in order to close. She warned me about it when building our own house but I wouldn't listen and forced her hand... boy do I regret it now.

As others have said, hire that inspector. And remember the "little things" that you say you'll just take care of after you move in yourself can/will pile up. You are paying someone else to do that so make them do it.



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[Acameron52]

Don’t give in if it’s something you don’t like!!

[150class]

fill up all sinks and bathtubs...then drain them.!

10-4!

How long is your builder warranty? I know people that like to wait on the inspection until they’re a couple months out from the warranty being up. Inspect it at that point and get everything addressed for peace of mind before it’s expired. Who is your builder?

1 Year warranty then some 2/10 warranty I need to do some more research on. Princeton homes is the builder

Why are there water pipes overhead? You having a two-story house built?
Ensure no water pipes overhead cross over light fixtures in the celling. Ensure overhead pipes are insulated, same goes if they installed the water heater (blanket) in the attic..

1 story home

One more thing I thought of. Join the neighborhood social media page and find out if there are any reoccurring issues in the neighborhood. A lot of your quality is going to be based on the abilities and attention to detail of your on site builder. If you have one that your neighbors love, chances are he’s doing his job well. If they tell you communication goes out the door after closing, you know what to look out for and can adjust accordingly.

Solid advice and appreciate it!

Be careful with this one. Sounds a lot like what folks in the home building industry call a "slam". My wife used to be a builder (she worked for couple of the biggest ones) Also built our house a couple of years ago. At the end there is a tendency to "slam the house" or rush to get crap done in order to close. She warned me about it when building our own house but I wouldn't listen and forced her hand... boy do I regret it now.

As others have said, hire that inspector. And remember the "little things" that you say you'll just take care of after you move in yourself can/will pile up. You are paying someone else to do that so make them do it.



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Thank you for the heads up.



Going to make them push the walk through back a day and get a inspector in that AM.