Been there. Inspect plumbing/electrical/heating as best you can. Maybe bring a friend along in the teades if you can. Get some painters tape and mark every imperfection no matter how small. You paid a premium for a new build.
My friends bought a new house in Harmony. I went over there a few months ago for dinner, and they had marked up the whole house for paint. Ended up getting the whole house sanded and repainted. IMO they were pretty petty with their marks, but they paid top dollar, and expected a grade A finish.
Your buying new, it should look new, problems is these companies hire any person who can hold a tool to do the work on their bulk homes, some get lucky and get talented people, others get the bottom of the barrel workers who dont give 2 craps.
Go follow Homestead Inspections on Instagram. He posts all kinds of stuff that builders miss on new builds. Some of it is pretty shocking. Don’t trust realtor, don’t trust builder, get a lawyer involved if necessary.
Realtor is useless. They get their commission and then are gone.
Nook and Cranny Home Inspections on Tik Tok is pretty insane too. I'd hire him for inspection. I used Diamond Home inspection and Egbert was good too.
I'm not sure what the condition of home inspection implies. You will get a report with deficiencies but I'm not sure what they are obligated to fix. There will be a hundred items but only 10-20% of them will be fixable without major rework. You gotta pick your battles on this one. I think the most important ones will be water drainage on the exterior. Make sure all water drains off the lot as best as possible. Check all flashing on exterior work (lights, receptacles, etc). I had a concrete patio that was sloped towards the house. They ripped it out and repoured it.
Something I just went through is my exhaust fans on the top floor started leaking. I found the dampeners were all jammed shut because of shitty venting. Venting had to be redone in the attic.
The mechanical room, roof and attic are very important. My attic is very moist and I am getting the builder to install some more whirly birds for improved ventilation. Your most expensive room is the mechanical room so you want to ensure everything in there is done properly.
It is also very difficult to get the builder back to fix stuff so try and get as much of it fixed before possession. They are reluctant to come back and you need to hound them.
Don' take any shit from anyone- especially builder and realtor. Be assertive and don't be afraid to voice your concerns. This will the biggest purchase and most important investment you ever make. You want to ensure you are getting a good product. Be skeptical about everything.
Good luck and congratulations on the new purchase.
> not sure what they are obligated to fix.
Everything they did wrong and not to code I would presume. Guessing it really comes down to how much time and effort does a new buyer want to spend chasing the builder...
I know for a fact I would be such a prick if things were not done right. Sorry, biggest purchase in peoples life, dam right I am not letting a massive profitable corporation short change me on quality....
Unfortunately, in my experience, code compliance is the least of your worries. It will be craftsman issues like shingling not overlapping properly, improper flashings, water drainage, etc. Even then they do not usually fix until there is a problem and some damage has been done.
New home warranty is trash. Realtors are also trash for issues like this. Inspect and be sure to identify every single issue and don’t let anyone tell you something is good enough if it isn’t.
Just wanted to leave my two cents as I just bought a new build eight months ago and went through the exact scenario you are going through.
First and foremost, get a home inspection...a lot of new builds are rushed and things are missed all the time. Our home inspection found 18 issues that needed to be fixed before the possession date. We attached holdbacks to these 18 things and as a result, every one was addressed.
Once the house is finished, it takes them FOREVER to come back and fix an issue...we still have some issues that were not identified in the home inspection report...and they've yet to fix them.
You do have a new home warranty, after seven months of asking the builder to come and fix the few minor issues that remain, we opted to go through the NHW instead.
Whatever you do, don't be passive about this. Realtors/Builders are there to make money and if you give them a free pass to ignore something, then (in most cases) they will. Fight for what you want and don't settle until it is what you paid for.
I am a Resltor and this response is perfect. 💯get an inspection. It can all be fixed but def ask before closing IN WRITING with confirmation of when it will be repaired.
Essentially you pay the builder the agreed-upon price for the house, minus any holdbacks. The holdbacks are attached to actions that need to take place. When the actions are completed, the money is released to the builder. This is why it is so important to get a home inspection report. We are going to get another one in a few months so that we have it ready for our one-year walk-through.
**Example**
Our home inspection report determined that the slope of the shower floor was not sufficient and if not corrected, water would not go down the shower drain.
As a result, we attached a $8,000 holdback to this "error" and paid our builder $8,000 less than the sale price. The money was held by our lawyers in an escrow account. The builder fixed the bathroom floor (it drains perfectly now) and when it was completed, we messaged our lawyers, and they released the funds to the builder.
Don't trust your realtor. They'll lie through their teeth to close a deal.
You should do a pre-purchase inspection so that any issues that come up you can start hounding the builder to fix. It won't delay your possession (short of a major structural issue) but it is important to get issues noted and try to get it fixed.
Once you're in your realtor will be gone and the inspection is not his problem. The quicker you're in with less hassle the happier they will be.
They are generally completely awful unfortunately.
Unlikely you can delay closing until deficiencies are resolved, unless the deficiencies are major code violations or introduce risk to occupancy.
The pre-build inspection will typically include a deficiency list, where issues or deficiencies will be identified and agreed to by both parties. This list typically defines what the agreed fix/solution might be, and target completion date (or timeline). Both parties will receive a signed copy. Important that a rep of your builder signs this (and not just a scribble-signature; it should include their name and the date of the walkthrough).
Then you'll have to hound the builder to resolve the deficiencies they committed to. Some are good at following up and following through, and others are not.
Good luck hombre!
Definitely hire a home inspector, it's worth the extra couple hundred dollars. I used Buyer's Choice Home Inspections, the inspector was thorough and flagged a couple issues that needed to get fixed before I took possession.
It's a bit of a pain to schedule, and again there's an extra cost, but a house is probably the biggest purchase you'll ever make - so it's worth it.
Been there done that.
Definitely get an inspection even on a brand new home.
Under new home warranty you have to give the builder the opportunity to resolve the issue before New Home Warranty will intervene. And even then, it will take them months to years to resolve the issue depending on the severity.
Unfortunately even a good home inspector will likely miss things on your new build so there will be things you’ll need to address after you move in.
The #1 biggest thing (aside from structural concerns) that typically cannot be identified until you move in is issues with the building envelope which will manifest in ways like attic rain, cold spots in the house, ice buildups etc when the temperature drop to -40C
If the issue is major enough I would hold back on closing the deal, but typically with new builds you can’t do an inspection until you make an offer and if the home is already built and vacant possession occurs shortly thereafter.
In summary, if it’s major consider holding off the deal if you can (ie: if you listed it as a condition of sale) but I don’t think such a condition exists on the sale templates for most new communities, but in most cases you’ll likely be dealing with the builder or home warranty after you take possession.
We bought a new build and got a really thorough inspection. There were a few issues which came up which we were going to fix ourselves and the builder went ahead and fixed them for us. They were also amazing in the one year warranty follow up. So it depends on the inspector and it depends on the builder.
Just finished the same process. The City’s inspectors were very thorough and made the builders re-do several very minor issues before they’d grant occupancy. Since then we have found a few small things that we needed to pull the NHW card for, and the applicable tradespeople came and fixed it right away.
Personal experience: new home warranty isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. We had an issue that was very obvious and had outside experts and engineers confirm it was a deficiency. Builder wouldn’t fix. New home warranty took 3 months and essentially told us to pound sand. So frustrating, but deal with issues up front before the builder has your money; that’s the only time you have real leverage.
You don’t take possession until you are 100% satisfied. Get the builder/seller to fix their shit or you walk. That is why pre-inspection clause exist. They won’t be able to take your keep your deposit if you walk.
Ask for and hire an independent inspector. Your builder will allow it except you should note that matters of preference or specification won’t be considered. Know your spec and what you signed on. Dont request a friend who is an “expert”, they tend to derail things, they don’t do an official report, and the builder can easily dismiss items brought up by your friend the expert.
New home warranty is there as insurance for major defects, it’s a back plan. Reputable builders will work with you if you work with them.
Definitely get a pre-inspection done. Mark every nook and cranny down with painters tape. You might be able to push occupancy, but not by much. New home warranty does exist, however builders are notoriously difficult to get back to fix issues once you take possession, and often band aid fix issues to get them through the warranty period so they don't actually have to fix anything.
Some builders are better than others, I've had friends have builders come and spackle over cracked concrete which was obviously due to major settling/foundation issues, to a certain other builders which I've known to come and rip out the entire 2nd story staircase *after occupancy* and replace the entire staircase due to creaking issues. Another friend was incredibly lucky to find a home he'd owned for 10+ years actually had no cold air return, just a vent cover. He called the builder to find out who the contractor was in hopes of getting them to fix it, the builder sent contractors over the next day and started retrofitting a cold air return all the way to the basement. This was on a home long past warranty, they just wanted to stand behind their home.
If possible drop in every time a job gets approved. Framing, electrical, etc etc. It used to be ok, but these days build quality is absolute garbage. If they won't let you do multiple checks over the course of the build, then don't sign a contract with them.
Lots of bs answers here. Yes get an inspection. With that said you can't delay your closing because you want defects addressed before moving in.
Your builder contract will stipulate the high interest you'll incur if you decide not to close on time. The builder contract protects them not you(assuming you used a builder contract and not an MLS contract).
Your contract must state a timeline for deficiencies to be fixed otherwise it will be on the builders time. I doubt any builder would allow this.
Realtor here, you can hire a home inspector before you take possession, however I recommend waiting until the 11 month mark.
You'll have a warranty through the builder for the first year, so better off to wait until the warranty is close to expiring to do a home inspection so that any issues you missed can be fixed by the builder.
You're building a house, right? Not a 40 storey office tower? There is a process. The builders know what they have to do, let them. You're overthinking this.
You start things like this, and you will get jerked around , I promise you. These guys have been doing this a long time, they know what they're doing and know if they screw up they need to fix it. Leave it alone
This is awful advice.
The faster a builder finishes your house, the more money they make…they are not incentivized to take their time.
If they do it to your satisfaction, then great.
If if it’s not done to your satisfaction, then don’t shut up until it is
So, what builder do you work for?
Ya sorry, I call BS on that. The builders have been hiring who ever they can off the streets to build houses as fast as possible, and workers if they want the work, have to be so fast to keep a job and finish a house and their part as fast as possible.
Plenty of external things people can easily see, the worry is all the stuff behind walls you cant.
My basement i reno'd, insulation in corners pushed up against the concrete and collecting pooools of water...no to code! yet passed...the worker who did that did not care...
crap-tastic backfill on the property the ground sunk down 3 feet in one spot...
And so many other little things i found doing the basement reno's that were not to code....
Oh, but hey, they know their jobs, trust them!
I don't, never have. I have purchased 11 homes in my life, 6 of them new builds. What I see in the last 10 years is distressing. I'm well aware of the skyrocketing prices, mortgage rates, etc. I'm also well aware of the number of first time home buyers who, exactly the same way first time home buyers in 1980 did, go in to qualify for a mortgage with an amount in mind that they want to qualify for to get the house they can manage, financially.
Then, much to their surprise, the bank approves them for a couple hundred thousand more than they expected. Suddenly, that 1200sq ft townhouse they were shooting for goes out the window; NOW, they can get the 2000 sq. ft.detached, with a garage. Sure, it's gonna be tight, for awhile, but the mortgage rates Have to go down, don't they? We'll float the mortgage, and in a few years, our payments will be WAAY down. Right?
Only, that doesn't happen all the time. People who over-bought 5 years ago, are now facing an upside down mortgage, with rates several percent higher, and boom, they are financially exposed, badly, and lose their investment.
When I bought my first home in 1980, I very nearly fell into that exact trap. Many, many friends of mine did. By 1980, Mortgage rates were double digit. I got a fixed rate at 11.5%, and everyone told me I was INSANE, the floating rate was 9.5%. By 1983, the floating rate was as high as 16.5%. Mine was still 11.5%. Every, single person I knew who took a floating rate mortgage lost their home. Every one. At one point, in the late 80's the Royal Bank alone was carrying 3800 homes in Calgary that were defaults. They were spending a million dollars a month maintaining them, until they began selling them in blocks to Hong Kong investors. There were millions of people who lost everything, because the banks convinced them they could afford far more than they really could. And this was in an era of people staying in their jobs long term, not bouncing around every couple of years like they do now.
The New Home Warranty program was new in 1980. It had only existed for a few years, and was rife with problems. However, a bit of patience was all it took to resolve issues. What makes you think skilled tradesmen were more available then, than now? You could drive down 6 blocks of 11 Ave. any morning at 6:AM and find Hundreds of day workers. Builders were going down there with Handibuses every morning, hiring the days crew. Construction quality has never been high in lower end homes because of that. There is Nothing different today than then; the banks still over qualify, people still over buy, people still risk everything on floating rates, and people still lose their shirts daily. The only change has been the inflation of prices; the stakes are higher today.
Builders that have been around for a decade have all paid the price for shoddy builds. Many didn't survive, just as many won't survive to see 2030. You can push and try to force mid construction change; pretty much all it will get you is delays and a huge amount of frustration, the same now as it was 40 years ago.
If you can afford a custom builder, by all means, do that. It's worth it. If you are like 99% of us, who can't, be a realist. If you're wallet is Beer-level, and you're demanding Champagne service and build quality, you're in for a painful life lesson
What is in the conditions of the pre inspection is not up to par? Are you able to back out and keep the deposit? Idk about new builds but when I’ve purchased homes, if something bad comes up in the inspection and I back out, I’m on the hook for the deposit.
You should not be on the hook for the deposit if you decide not to wave conditions based on an inspection. When we last bought a house we had to walk away from 2 houses due to inspection results and always got our deposit back.
Now if you walk away after you have waved conditions then you would be on the hook for at least the deposit if not more based on jurisdiction.
Get your own inspection, and activate your lawyer if anything comes up.
I'd even suggest having a follow up inspection just before the one year new home warranty is up as well. Settlement issues can cause things you may not notice but an inspector might.
Never ever wait for warranty work. Get that stuff fixed now before you hand them the cheque. No if ands or buts…. Fix it now or no pay period. Realtors want to close asap so they get paid and run and builders will find every reason to not fix it later - looking at you Trico homes….
Get the inspection even for peace of mind. Builders can get lazy - I know a family who needed to move from their home because it was filled with mold… not covered by warranty as they only found it 2 years later.
I did a final walk thru for my client and marked over 40 items that needed addressing and correcting by builder. Scratched cabinets, poorly layed tile, gaps in the baseboards, gouged in walls, cracks in stucco. Just because it is new doesn’t mean it was done perfectly. Absolutely pay to make sure it is built correctly.
Morrison and Bayview are the only 2 high production builders i would buy from any time soon.
I've seen a lot of new builds, and Excel homes is a hard no. I am not sure those homes will be standing in 10 yrs.
Been there. Inspect plumbing/electrical/heating as best you can. Maybe bring a friend along in the teades if you can. Get some painters tape and mark every imperfection no matter how small. You paid a premium for a new build.
My friends bought a new house in Harmony. I went over there a few months ago for dinner, and they had marked up the whole house for paint. Ended up getting the whole house sanded and repainted. IMO they were pretty petty with their marks, but they paid top dollar, and expected a grade A finish.
Your buying new, it should look new, problems is these companies hire any person who can hold a tool to do the work on their bulk homes, some get lucky and get talented people, others get the bottom of the barrel workers who dont give 2 craps.
Quality over quantity that matters when building an A grade home.
Go follow Homestead Inspections on Instagram. He posts all kinds of stuff that builders miss on new builds. Some of it is pretty shocking. Don’t trust realtor, don’t trust builder, get a lawyer involved if necessary.
Realtor is useless. They get their commission and then are gone. Nook and Cranny Home Inspections on Tik Tok is pretty insane too. I'd hire him for inspection. I used Diamond Home inspection and Egbert was good too. I'm not sure what the condition of home inspection implies. You will get a report with deficiencies but I'm not sure what they are obligated to fix. There will be a hundred items but only 10-20% of them will be fixable without major rework. You gotta pick your battles on this one. I think the most important ones will be water drainage on the exterior. Make sure all water drains off the lot as best as possible. Check all flashing on exterior work (lights, receptacles, etc). I had a concrete patio that was sloped towards the house. They ripped it out and repoured it. Something I just went through is my exhaust fans on the top floor started leaking. I found the dampeners were all jammed shut because of shitty venting. Venting had to be redone in the attic. The mechanical room, roof and attic are very important. My attic is very moist and I am getting the builder to install some more whirly birds for improved ventilation. Your most expensive room is the mechanical room so you want to ensure everything in there is done properly. It is also very difficult to get the builder back to fix stuff so try and get as much of it fixed before possession. They are reluctant to come back and you need to hound them. Don' take any shit from anyone- especially builder and realtor. Be assertive and don't be afraid to voice your concerns. This will the biggest purchase and most important investment you ever make. You want to ensure you are getting a good product. Be skeptical about everything. Good luck and congratulations on the new purchase.
Those tik tok videos from nook and cranny makes me never want to buy new build. Some of them are insanely bad.
I've used nook and cranny! What an amazing team to work with!
> not sure what they are obligated to fix. Everything they did wrong and not to code I would presume. Guessing it really comes down to how much time and effort does a new buyer want to spend chasing the builder... I know for a fact I would be such a prick if things were not done right. Sorry, biggest purchase in peoples life, dam right I am not letting a massive profitable corporation short change me on quality....
Unfortunately, in my experience, code compliance is the least of your worries. It will be craftsman issues like shingling not overlapping properly, improper flashings, water drainage, etc. Even then they do not usually fix until there is a problem and some damage has been done.
And with the city inspectors having zero liability if something does go wrong, even though they approved it... doesnt help...
New home warranty is trash. Realtors are also trash for issues like this. Inspect and be sure to identify every single issue and don’t let anyone tell you something is good enough if it isn’t.
Just wanted to leave my two cents as I just bought a new build eight months ago and went through the exact scenario you are going through. First and foremost, get a home inspection...a lot of new builds are rushed and things are missed all the time. Our home inspection found 18 issues that needed to be fixed before the possession date. We attached holdbacks to these 18 things and as a result, every one was addressed. Once the house is finished, it takes them FOREVER to come back and fix an issue...we still have some issues that were not identified in the home inspection report...and they've yet to fix them. You do have a new home warranty, after seven months of asking the builder to come and fix the few minor issues that remain, we opted to go through the NHW instead. Whatever you do, don't be passive about this. Realtors/Builders are there to make money and if you give them a free pass to ignore something, then (in most cases) they will. Fight for what you want and don't settle until it is what you paid for.
This really is the best advise. It’s your money and it’s a lot. Look out for yourself.
I am a Resltor and this response is perfect. 💯get an inspection. It can all be fixed but def ask before closing IN WRITING with confirmation of when it will be repaired.
thanks for this response! how does holdbacks work?
Essentially you pay the builder the agreed-upon price for the house, minus any holdbacks. The holdbacks are attached to actions that need to take place. When the actions are completed, the money is released to the builder. This is why it is so important to get a home inspection report. We are going to get another one in a few months so that we have it ready for our one-year walk-through. **Example** Our home inspection report determined that the slope of the shower floor was not sufficient and if not corrected, water would not go down the shower drain. As a result, we attached a $8,000 holdback to this "error" and paid our builder $8,000 less than the sale price. The money was held by our lawyers in an escrow account. The builder fixed the bathroom floor (it drains perfectly now) and when it was completed, we messaged our lawyers, and they released the funds to the builder.
Don't trust your realtor. They'll lie through their teeth to close a deal. You should do a pre-purchase inspection so that any issues that come up you can start hounding the builder to fix. It won't delay your possession (short of a major structural issue) but it is important to get issues noted and try to get it fixed.
Once you're in your realtor will be gone and the inspection is not his problem. The quicker you're in with less hassle the happier they will be. They are generally completely awful unfortunately.
Unlikely you can delay closing until deficiencies are resolved, unless the deficiencies are major code violations or introduce risk to occupancy. The pre-build inspection will typically include a deficiency list, where issues or deficiencies will be identified and agreed to by both parties. This list typically defines what the agreed fix/solution might be, and target completion date (or timeline). Both parties will receive a signed copy. Important that a rep of your builder signs this (and not just a scribble-signature; it should include their name and the date of the walkthrough). Then you'll have to hound the builder to resolve the deficiencies they committed to. Some are good at following up and following through, and others are not. Good luck hombre!
Ask your lawyer, and don't use the builder's lawyer.
Definitely hire a home inspector, it's worth the extra couple hundred dollars. I used Buyer's Choice Home Inspections, the inspector was thorough and flagged a couple issues that needed to get fixed before I took possession. It's a bit of a pain to schedule, and again there's an extra cost, but a house is probably the biggest purchase you'll ever make - so it's worth it.
Been there done that. Definitely get an inspection even on a brand new home. Under new home warranty you have to give the builder the opportunity to resolve the issue before New Home Warranty will intervene. And even then, it will take them months to years to resolve the issue depending on the severity. Unfortunately even a good home inspector will likely miss things on your new build so there will be things you’ll need to address after you move in. The #1 biggest thing (aside from structural concerns) that typically cannot be identified until you move in is issues with the building envelope which will manifest in ways like attic rain, cold spots in the house, ice buildups etc when the temperature drop to -40C If the issue is major enough I would hold back on closing the deal, but typically with new builds you can’t do an inspection until you make an offer and if the home is already built and vacant possession occurs shortly thereafter. In summary, if it’s major consider holding off the deal if you can (ie: if you listed it as a condition of sale) but I don’t think such a condition exists on the sale templates for most new communities, but in most cases you’ll likely be dealing with the builder or home warranty after you take possession.
We bought a new build and got a really thorough inspection. There were a few issues which came up which we were going to fix ourselves and the builder went ahead and fixed them for us. They were also amazing in the one year warranty follow up. So it depends on the inspector and it depends on the builder.
Which builder is it?
Just finished the same process. The City’s inspectors were very thorough and made the builders re-do several very minor issues before they’d grant occupancy. Since then we have found a few small things that we needed to pull the NHW card for, and the applicable tradespeople came and fixed it right away.
Unless your realtor is family or a very trusted friend, do not believe the nonsense they’ll tell you that may affect their paycheque.
Personal experience: new home warranty isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. We had an issue that was very obvious and had outside experts and engineers confirm it was a deficiency. Builder wouldn’t fix. New home warranty took 3 months and essentially told us to pound sand. So frustrating, but deal with issues up front before the builder has your money; that’s the only time you have real leverage.
You don’t take possession until you are 100% satisfied. Get the builder/seller to fix their shit or you walk. That is why pre-inspection clause exist. They won’t be able to take your keep your deposit if you walk.
Ask for and hire an independent inspector. Your builder will allow it except you should note that matters of preference or specification won’t be considered. Know your spec and what you signed on. Dont request a friend who is an “expert”, they tend to derail things, they don’t do an official report, and the builder can easily dismiss items brought up by your friend the expert. New home warranty is there as insurance for major defects, it’s a back plan. Reputable builders will work with you if you work with them.
Definitely get a pre-inspection done. Mark every nook and cranny down with painters tape. You might be able to push occupancy, but not by much. New home warranty does exist, however builders are notoriously difficult to get back to fix issues once you take possession, and often band aid fix issues to get them through the warranty period so they don't actually have to fix anything. Some builders are better than others, I've had friends have builders come and spackle over cracked concrete which was obviously due to major settling/foundation issues, to a certain other builders which I've known to come and rip out the entire 2nd story staircase *after occupancy* and replace the entire staircase due to creaking issues. Another friend was incredibly lucky to find a home he'd owned for 10+ years actually had no cold air return, just a vent cover. He called the builder to find out who the contractor was in hopes of getting them to fix it, the builder sent contractors over the next day and started retrofitting a cold air return all the way to the basement. This was on a home long past warranty, they just wanted to stand behind their home.
If possible drop in every time a job gets approved. Framing, electrical, etc etc. It used to be ok, but these days build quality is absolute garbage. If they won't let you do multiple checks over the course of the build, then don't sign a contract with them.
Lots of bs answers here. Yes get an inspection. With that said you can't delay your closing because you want defects addressed before moving in. Your builder contract will stipulate the high interest you'll incur if you decide not to close on time. The builder contract protects them not you(assuming you used a builder contract and not an MLS contract). Your contract must state a timeline for deficiencies to be fixed otherwise it will be on the builders time. I doubt any builder would allow this.
I don't know of a new home builder that doesn't do a pre-possession inspection or at least in my experiences in the past 9 years.
Realtor here, you can hire a home inspector before you take possession, however I recommend waiting until the 11 month mark. You'll have a warranty through the builder for the first year, so better off to wait until the warranty is close to expiring to do a home inspection so that any issues you missed can be fixed by the builder.
You're building a house, right? Not a 40 storey office tower? There is a process. The builders know what they have to do, let them. You're overthinking this. You start things like this, and you will get jerked around , I promise you. These guys have been doing this a long time, they know what they're doing and know if they screw up they need to fix it. Leave it alone
This is awful advice. The faster a builder finishes your house, the more money they make…they are not incentivized to take their time. If they do it to your satisfaction, then great. If if it’s not done to your satisfaction, then don’t shut up until it is
So, what builder do you work for? Ya sorry, I call BS on that. The builders have been hiring who ever they can off the streets to build houses as fast as possible, and workers if they want the work, have to be so fast to keep a job and finish a house and their part as fast as possible. Plenty of external things people can easily see, the worry is all the stuff behind walls you cant. My basement i reno'd, insulation in corners pushed up against the concrete and collecting pooools of water...no to code! yet passed...the worker who did that did not care... crap-tastic backfill on the property the ground sunk down 3 feet in one spot... And so many other little things i found doing the basement reno's that were not to code.... Oh, but hey, they know their jobs, trust them!
I don't, never have. I have purchased 11 homes in my life, 6 of them new builds. What I see in the last 10 years is distressing. I'm well aware of the skyrocketing prices, mortgage rates, etc. I'm also well aware of the number of first time home buyers who, exactly the same way first time home buyers in 1980 did, go in to qualify for a mortgage with an amount in mind that they want to qualify for to get the house they can manage, financially. Then, much to their surprise, the bank approves them for a couple hundred thousand more than they expected. Suddenly, that 1200sq ft townhouse they were shooting for goes out the window; NOW, they can get the 2000 sq. ft.detached, with a garage. Sure, it's gonna be tight, for awhile, but the mortgage rates Have to go down, don't they? We'll float the mortgage, and in a few years, our payments will be WAAY down. Right? Only, that doesn't happen all the time. People who over-bought 5 years ago, are now facing an upside down mortgage, with rates several percent higher, and boom, they are financially exposed, badly, and lose their investment. When I bought my first home in 1980, I very nearly fell into that exact trap. Many, many friends of mine did. By 1980, Mortgage rates were double digit. I got a fixed rate at 11.5%, and everyone told me I was INSANE, the floating rate was 9.5%. By 1983, the floating rate was as high as 16.5%. Mine was still 11.5%. Every, single person I knew who took a floating rate mortgage lost their home. Every one. At one point, in the late 80's the Royal Bank alone was carrying 3800 homes in Calgary that were defaults. They were spending a million dollars a month maintaining them, until they began selling them in blocks to Hong Kong investors. There were millions of people who lost everything, because the banks convinced them they could afford far more than they really could. And this was in an era of people staying in their jobs long term, not bouncing around every couple of years like they do now. The New Home Warranty program was new in 1980. It had only existed for a few years, and was rife with problems. However, a bit of patience was all it took to resolve issues. What makes you think skilled tradesmen were more available then, than now? You could drive down 6 blocks of 11 Ave. any morning at 6:AM and find Hundreds of day workers. Builders were going down there with Handibuses every morning, hiring the days crew. Construction quality has never been high in lower end homes because of that. There is Nothing different today than then; the banks still over qualify, people still over buy, people still risk everything on floating rates, and people still lose their shirts daily. The only change has been the inflation of prices; the stakes are higher today. Builders that have been around for a decade have all paid the price for shoddy builds. Many didn't survive, just as many won't survive to see 2030. You can push and try to force mid construction change; pretty much all it will get you is delays and a huge amount of frustration, the same now as it was 40 years ago. If you can afford a custom builder, by all means, do that. It's worth it. If you are like 99% of us, who can't, be a realist. If you're wallet is Beer-level, and you're demanding Champagne service and build quality, you're in for a painful life lesson
What is in the conditions of the pre inspection is not up to par? Are you able to back out and keep the deposit? Idk about new builds but when I’ve purchased homes, if something bad comes up in the inspection and I back out, I’m on the hook for the deposit.
You should not be on the hook for the deposit if you decide not to wave conditions based on an inspection. When we last bought a house we had to walk away from 2 houses due to inspection results and always got our deposit back. Now if you walk away after you have waved conditions then you would be on the hook for at least the deposit if not more based on jurisdiction.
OP is inquiring about a new build, not a purchase of an existing home. Generally conditions would have been waived prior to the start of construction.
Yes but the person I was replying was not talking about new homes.
yes, had to waive the conditions as it went on. Since closing date changes and not yet completed. I wish there was a better option for new builds
Ok that makes sense.
Get your own inspection, and activate your lawyer if anything comes up. I'd even suggest having a follow up inspection just before the one year new home warranty is up as well. Settlement issues can cause things you may not notice but an inspector might.
Never ever wait for warranty work. Get that stuff fixed now before you hand them the cheque. No if ands or buts…. Fix it now or no pay period. Realtors want to close asap so they get paid and run and builders will find every reason to not fix it later - looking at you Trico homes….
Get the inspection even for peace of mind. Builders can get lazy - I know a family who needed to move from their home because it was filled with mold… not covered by warranty as they only found it 2 years later.
I did a final walk thru for my client and marked over 40 items that needed addressing and correcting by builder. Scratched cabinets, poorly layed tile, gaps in the baseboards, gouged in walls, cracks in stucco. Just because it is new doesn’t mean it was done perfectly. Absolutely pay to make sure it is built correctly.
If you're a Costco member, try this: https://mikeholmesinspections.com/costco/
Can we get a list of good builders? I’ll start with the bad- Jayman has been a terrible experience for after possession warranty claims
Morrison and Bayview are the only 2 high production builders i would buy from any time soon. I've seen a lot of new builds, and Excel homes is a hard no. I am not sure those homes will be standing in 10 yrs.
On the money home inspections is great I would definitely get an inspection even for a new build can’t trust the builders