Inspection items

17 years ago

Hello all,

I am looking to purchase a home. It is a new construction semiattached house built by Greek builders. I had a home inspector come to inspect the place and he did a very good job. I think he was worth the money even though a lot of people told me you don't need an inspeaction on a new house. He pointed out things such as open ground on nearly all the outlets on the house which the owner/builder agreed to fix. Other things such as poor location of the diffusers (on top mostly) and 80 amp instead of 100 amp services to living area when he looked at the fuse box. These items I can live without since he said he has done everything to code and HVAC standard....

However there are two items that he doesn't think warrants repair/attention but I am a little concern. The inspector noticed water condition to basement evidenced by effloresecnet deposits, water staining rusting of metal, dampness in the trap area of the basment. The inspector suspects it is the grading of the soil near the foundation. The owner insisted that the soil is graded properly and when I went to look at the house today again, he painted the metal lid that covers the traps and the area is not damp anymore (since NY has not been getting much rain). The day of the inspection, we had a huge storm a couple of days prior. No water was observed in the basement.

Second item has to deal with the detached garage with brick veneer. Soffit vents are missing from both sides of the garage but has soffit vents near the garage door in the front. Also, the cinder blocks on certain sections of the garage are not staggered with seams over each other. The owner's response is that the soffit vents above the door of the garage is sufficient enough and you don't need them along the length of the garage. As with the cinder blocks, he said the brick veneer on the outside along with the cinder blocks make it very strong already and nothing will happen with it.

The new house comes with a 1 year warranty. Folks, what is your opinion on those two items the builder refuses to remedy? I am not a handy person and would like to see what everyone out there thinks? I really don't want to end the deal if these items are not major issues.

Thanks--Barry

Comments (6)

DNT1
17 years ago
It sounds like you kinda feel committed to the purchase and I think that is a dangerous way to do a deal. First and foremost seperate your emotions, take a step back and then reapproach this as simply a business deal, look at all the evidence objectively writing down all the pluses in one column and negatives in another and simply compare them. Your gut instinct sounds like it is screaming out something to you, what is it saying? Could it possibly be telling you that the owner builder is a snake in the grass and is hiding flaws so he can maximize profitability on this house?
davidandkasie
17 years ago
how can an inspector say that everything is to code when ALL electrical outlets are ungrounded?
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normel
17 years ago
If this is new construction and all the outlets are ungrounded and the main breaker is undersized, I would be very worried about other electrical items. That worry would also carry over to plumbing, HVAC, and construction. Walk away from this one.
GammyT
17 years ago
This is new construction?? Run, do not walk, RUN away from this as fast as you can.

The electric alone is wrong and unsafe. I would guess it was built without proper permits and the building inspector signing off. Not only is 80 amps not enough for normal life but it isn't even grounded correctly.

Has an Occupancy Permit even been issued? If so, then my next guess is the building inspector was paid to look the other way.

If you buy this, you won't be able to sell it without fixing the electric enough to get it up to safety standards.
logic
17 years ago
NYS licenses home inspectors...and, the home inspection is NOT a code inspection. In addition, anyone who states something complies with code if they are not a licensed code official is engaging in unlicensed practice...which may answer the question posed by davidandkasie "how can an inspector say that everything is to code when ALL electrical outlets are ungrounded?"

That said, the inspection of new construction is not truly a home inspectionÂÂsimply because the house has yet to be called upon to performÂe.g. laundry loads, showers, toilet flushing, electrical loads etc. It is merley a walk through inspection.

Now, if all the electrical outlets are ungrounded, how did it pass the town building code inspection? In addition, what other issue might there be that the "home inspector" canÂt see because they are hidden behind wallsÂand may not rear their ugly heads until months down the line?

I say this because I hate to see anyone put too much stock in these pseudo-home "walk through" inspectionsÂespecially when they are performed by individuals who are unlicensed in codeÂ.and fail to realize that they are being deceptive by leading the buyer to think otherwise.

Last but not least, most builder warranties are very difficult to make use ofÂas the warranty company will require you give the builder every chance to fix the issue before any action is takenÂ.even then, the result is usually an "arbitration" that favors the builder.

IMO, get these issues resolved NOW.
pew1
17 years ago
Sounds like a house to run from.

Placement of heat / cooling vents can make a home comfortable or very uncomfortable. Single vent for a structure will not provide sufficient ventilation. Ungrounded outlets, no excuse!

How many items are unseen for each one found?

"not a handy person" RUN!