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New or Pre-Owned?
Wouldn't it be great if your home required little,
if any, maintenance for 5 or 10 years? This is a major benefit of buying
a new home. You simply move in and enjoy. Unless, of course that is, you
have the misfortune of buying a lemon.
Usually new homes are built with the approval
of the local building department. This usually requires a building permit
application process which can include a soils report, architectural plans
and structural calculations.
Licensed professionals are involved in building
a new home project, which is inspected by city building inspectors during
the course of construction. At the end of the project, a certificate of
occupancy is issued.
With all this planning and scrutiny, new homes
ought to be perfect. But, just because a home is new and built with permits
doesn't mean that it was properly built, or that it's free of defects.
Sometimes builders make mistakes and City inspectors aren't infallible
either.
You should always have your home inspected. Don't
assume that you don't need to have it inspected because a city inspector
looked at the property. Include an inspection contingency in your purchase
agreement.
Finding a home inspector who has experience inspecting
new homes is probably your best bet. It might not be a bad idea to have
an engineer evaluate the soils report, plans and structural calculations
for you as well. In addition make sure that you investigate the builder's
reputation. Buy from a builder who values his good reputation and will
take care of any construction-related problems that might come up in the
first year or so of ownership.
It's a good idea to ask the builder for a list
of homes or developments that he has built in recent years. How do they
look? Speak to some of the homeowners to find out how satisfied they are
with his product. Make sure to ask how the builder responded to requests
to take care of problems.
Ask the builder to give you a written warranty
that says he will repair construction defects that develop within your
first year or so of ownership. Some builders won't do this and the law
is not always clear about what a builder's responsibilities are to you.
Ask a real estate attorney if you have any questions about a builder's
responsibilities.
Older homes often aren't energy efficient, need
updating, and may be poorly designed. But, a benefit of buying an older
home is that it has stood the test of time. In short, you should be careful
no matter what kind of new home you are buying.
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