I'm buying a new house, and conventional wisdom is to get a home inspection. But, it's about $700, and this house is only 3 years old, built by one of the better builders here.

My thought is to get my regular A/C guy check out the A/C, get a roofer to check the roof, and pay a pool company to check the pool. All would cost less combined than paying a home inspector, and I feel like I'm getting better info.

I can walk through the house and check every electrical outlet, make sure every door, window, cabinet and drawer opens, closes, and latches appropriately.

It's 3 years old and looks brand new. Am I being stupid, or is it a waste of money to pay for a general home inspection?

I'm a fan of home inspections. They've usually seen more than I have, and will look for those things going forward.

I caught a few things when looking at my place, the inspector found a few others. With his report, we conditioned for a few repairs, that was much easier than trying to haggle "without proof".

That, and I'm not going to climb the roof to look for proper flashing around the chimney and stink pipe... that alone is worth the money for me right there!

Are there termites in your neck of the woods? Do you know what to look for? Just asking. Depending on the type of construction, it might not matter.

I've used a home inspector twice and won't waste the money any more as I have caught more stuff then they have. Paying a true professional to checkout the major expensive systems of the home is a smart idea. Most of the other stuff you can find the flaws yourself with a good flashlight, some simple tools and a little bit of time.

Do what I did and hire a home inspector who is an engineer or has an engineering background, they may find something in this 3 year old house that may be a dealbreaker or save you a shitload of money.

Depends on the particular inspector.

You might also check, some lenders require a home inspection as part of the loan package. Given I've had horrible luck hiring home inspectors in the past, I'll pass on commenting any further on that subject.

Consider the amount you are spending on the house, and the percentage to have a written report on the condition of the property going in, and the backing of the report/inspection should something significant being found.

Some insurance is worth every penny, and some are not worth the paper they are written upon.

I will spend the money on the inspection, rather than deal with the possible bad outcome forgoing to save a few bucks.

If you choose to forgo and win, you win small.

If you choose to forgo and lose, you may lose big.

If you have the money to deal with anything not properly disclosed, or simply, unknown, then maybe the gamble is worth the risk.

The cost is very small to me, considering what may be the "?".

I have had very good results with inspectors, but I also built homes, and know a thing or three about vetting the inspector and the findings.

700 hundred bucks is not much to spend. Just make sure he knows his stuff. New homes even with good builders have problems. Some are BIG punch list items.

Most inspectors are simply clueless to real problems and actual code violations.

Hiring already trusted contractors to look over the house is the smart way to locating major problems.

HVAC Contractor
Plumbing Contractor
Electrical Contractor
Construction Contractor

Another waste of money is a home warranty.

I live in the same Parish as the OP . Pay CLOSE attention to the foundation . Lots of problems in this area . Termites too .

Is it a Seller's market there?

When I bought my house in 2003, it was a Seller's market. Everything my inspector found along with a "clean chimney flue" were met with a one sentence response, "No, do you want it or not?"

But with that; the home inspection could show you what is in need of attention (like the roof, septic, termites/bug, etc.).

I appreciate the responses- seems like a split decision. It’s not a lot of money considering the house price, but I’m having a hard time making that decision because of the age of the house, and mostly the fact that the inspectors have no liability. If they miss something, it does me no good. Of course if they find something, then I do benefit.

I think I’ll get a general inspection, but still get the A/C, roof, and pool guys to do their inspections.

‘A 3 y/o house from a good builder’ should be worth something. I’d think you could do some testing & checking yourself, factoring in the ‘seller’s market’ environment.

Back up to where it’s coming from, who’s selling, evaluate them & their care. Any home takes upkeep, new or well used.

Yeah, the ‘termite letter’ is a thing down south.

Your mortgage company may require a formal inspection to give you a loan.

Get the inspection…

If termites are a big problem there, get a termite letter from a licensed company. Home inspectors don't guarantee that sort of damage and likely will have an exclusion in their written report.

I would get the specialists you have mentioned and the get an inspector with the understanding that you've had those other items done. $700 sounds high around my area unless the pool or other items add that much and you're covering that. $300-400 is much closer to what I've seen (and my wife's a Realtor so I've seen a lot of them).

We bought one once.
Guy was not HVAC certified so he didn’t check the unit
Stood on the ground and said the roof looks good.
Didn’t check the fuse box or plumbing

On a newer home I would pass

Your lender will require a termite letter at closing.

At least in PA, home inspector and bug/termite inspectors are different companies.

We have purchased 3 homes, all had inspections. A good inspection results in a report that helps plan for replacement budgeting. Worth it to me.

I get the 3 year old house perspective. However, a good inspector will note items that could be a future problem. If the report comes back clean that's still OK.

Finally, on our second home the inspector noticed that the sellers had torn off a red ticket on the furnace. That red ticket flagged the HVAC as unsafe. That made an easy negotiation for sale price reduction to cover replacement of the entire HVAC system. The house was older but the small piece of remaining ticket was something we would not have noticed.

I’d skip it for such a new house. But I know enough to do my own inspection and find any major issues. I’m surprised you already have a purchase contract and didn’t put inspection or no inspection in the offer. I’d you don’t plan on inspection then an offer stating that is always a bit stronger and can get you a deal easier than people wanting an inspection.

I had a relative that said I needed a ‘flood plain analysis’ when I bought this property years ago? Let’s see, higher area, we could get 2’ of rain & I wouldn’t flood? It was just their thing, to recommend it.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Depends on the particular inspector.

When I sold my last house, the buyer hired a home inspector. Guy found around a dozen things wrong.

The only problem was that 7 of them were bogus and we ended up having to prove that they were bogus.

Things like "no safety glass" in sliding glass door. Really? It was etched on the glass, same as always.

"No security lights." Yeah, only two in the front and two in the back, both motion activated.

The list went on.