When building my new construction Central Florida Home, what inspections can I do?

Many buyers think that an independent home inspection is not allowed, unnecessary because its brand new, or county inspections are sufficient, right?  No, this is a misconception.  All new construction properties have items of adjustment, touch up and repair.  Many buyers think that when the builder does a "buyer orientation" when home is finished this constitutes a home inspection.  The buyer orientation is to show the new homeowers how-to-operate items in the home, not to look for hidden repairs.

Unless you have an independent inspection, items maybe hidden or covered up.  I have had 2 new construction properties with broken trusses, the buyer would have never known if they did not hire their own inspector.  I remember one inspector comments to a very crooked wall, it was "Miller Time", meaning the wall was finished quickly before closing time without precision workmanship. I just had a buyer conduct a pre-drywall inspection with about 30 items to be corrected to be consistent with building plans.   Although the county inspection is required at different construction phases, they sometimes do not have enough allotted time to conduct a thorough inspection.  

Although, the builder will correct obvious problems. They simply cannot watch over every minute each of the many tradesman working on your new home or several homes at the same time. So mistakes are inevitably. 

Even if the builders contract does not specify the process for your home inspection, all reputable builders will allow it. 

Here are the three main home inspections a buyer can do, in order of importance, when building a brand new Central Florida home, but not all have to be done.

Final Inspection:  This inspection is done when the entire property is built and conducted about 1 week before closing.  The inspector will be looking reviewing for functioning items, including major cosmetic touch ups, such as paint.  This is great time to ensure all your paid upgrades have been installed.  I have caught mistakes from wrong AC system to wrong pattern of tile. This inspection would be the most important.

Pre-Drywall or Frame Inspection:  This is an inspection of the plumbing, electrical, engineering/framing or inside of walls before drywall are installed.  The inspector will be making sure items are installed correctly based on the building plans. 

Slab Inspection:  This one is very first phases of building a home, and is viewing pipes and footing of the structure before the concrete is poured.  This one is most tricky to coordinate with builder and inpsector as it gets scheduled quickly.  This one is less critcal as the county has more time to inspect it and less involved.

Your Orlando buyers agent can help you with all aspects of building your new construction home even at inspections.

 

Should you do Mold Testing?

Whether purchasing a resale or brand new construction home, all contracts allow prospective buyers to conduct inspections on the home.  Depending on the size and type of home, the minimum inspection should be a comprehensive inspection, and termite (WDO) inspection.   Many buyers ask, do I need a mold inspection?  That depends.  First all inspectors will screen the home for mold, with site, smell, and thermal imaging.   If there is something significant, they may recommend mold testing.  Mold testing would be done to determine the type of mold is in the house and to what extent mold spore have spread.  It's important to know as certain molds are more toxic than others, and mold clean up or remediation could get expensive.  Some home inspectors are licensed to do mold inspections and others are not.  Mold testing will take air samples or swabs of area and could cost $300-400.  You will receive a laboratory report with interpretations.  What is important to note, that when conducting mold testing its approximately 4 day process, so you need to make sure you have enough inspection days left.  I recently read an article that was comprehensive on mold testing written by Elite Mold Services.  It stated mold will not grow without moisture and three commons causes of mold in a home is humidity levels above 60%, exterior water instrusion, or leak from a water pipe.   From my personal experience, I have seen mold under sinks, mold on everything even furniture, mold in and around AC, and recently a condo building was leaking from exterior walls and windows.   If you know that you have mold sensivity or allergy you may want to do mold testing along with your home inspection anyway otherwise you can discuss with your home inpsector if further testing is needed. 

What is a Wind Mitigation Inspection?

What is a wind mitigation inspection? 
Wind mitigation inspection was a new concept for me until the State of Florida contributed $100,000 several years ago toward home owners to get a free Wind inspection.   It sounded like a good opportunity, so I scheduled it.  Once the inspector checked out my house and generated a wind mitgation report, I turned the report into my insurance agent.  Luckily it knocked $60 off my premium. Not bad for a free-bee.

Now wind mitigation inspection seems to come up with many insurance agents in an effort to save money on insurance.  Most insurance agents will build in wind mitigation credits into your quote based on few factors or assumptions.  But, if you want to keep those credits, or you want more credits, then you will need to pay for a wind mitigation inspection to document what exists.  The costs varies about $70-150.  Factors inspectors are looking for type of roof decking, roof bracing, wall construction, water protection, roof tie down or straps, or hurricane shutter or other items that make your house well-protected from wind.

Here's the catch, even if you have the wind mitigation inspection done, there is not guarantee from the inspector, insurance agent, or insurance carrier will even give you any credit or how much.  The State of Florida requires insurance company to provide a discount, your credit maybe small.  Many wind mitigation companies guarantee if insurance discounts are not produces they will give you a refund.   Talk to your insurance agent to determine if the age of the home and age of the roof makes sense to get it done.