What are the types of inspections?

The typical homebuyer inspection, in preparation for the purchase of a home, is a structural and mechanical inspection.

The structural portion consists of the inspection of the foundation, roofing/framing, wall veneers (in & out), doors, windows, weatherstripping, attic venting, water penetration, gutters. It does not pertain to aesthetic items.

The mechanical portion relates to the electrical system, the plumbing lines, the cooling & heating sytem, the water heater and the built-in appliances.

To these you may wish (and are recommended) to add the wood destroying insect inspection which is commonly known as a termite inspection. Trust me that there are more than just termites eating wood.

Those are your basic inspections to protect yourself. If your home has special features or components you may also need to add inspections for such things as well and septic. Additional inspections are listed below, some are performed by MLC Real Estate Inspections, some we can schedule at the same time and some we may refer to a specialist in that field.

As a homebuyer you will be most interested in the following inspections available depending on the components or needs of the home you are considering:

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 structural inspections – include foundation thru the roofing
mechanical inspections – covers electrical, air conditioning and heating, plumbing, water heater
appliances – encompasses built in (non-chattel) items
swimming pools and spas
irrigation systems – sprinklers
wood destroying insect inspection - commonly known as “the termite inspection” – there are more that just termites that eat cellulose products
asbestos inspections
microbial inspection – mold
lead paint inspections
well and septic inspections – must be performed by registered sanitarians or licensed plumbers
new home inspections
phase inspections – for homes under construction


FHA and FmHA inspections These inspections are mortgage company initiated inspections.

Ten-Year Warranty Inspections These are builder-initiated inspections

Code Inspections These are, generally initiated by, mortgage companies and the government. They can also be in preparation for expert witness events. They are very expensive and require much time at the homesite to accomplish. They are generally considered beyond normal due-diligence.

Mike I am buying a new home, do you think I need an inspection? Absolutely!

Should I have my new home inspected?

Are some builders better than others?

Do builders have inspectors thru the homebuilding process?

Good question. As a former homebuilder of 20 years, I ended by homebuilding career as a Vice President of Houston Operations for a major builder. From that vantage point my opinion was more objective than when I was in the field.

“The truth is that one can get a good or a bad home from any homebuilder in town. Homes are brick and stick and concrete…just put together in different ways. The real determiner of quality construction is the concern level of the superintendent on the jobsite. The one that is actually supervising the construction.

He or she must have the knowledge and then be concerned enough to manage materials and labor, then have enough experience to check “punch-out” the work, confirm that the contractor has corrected the issues, then go back and check to determine that it was “fixed” properly.

I have often said that if I were to have a home built, I would interview the superintendent, not the company.

The quality of construction falls to the superintendent on the site.

Builders do have inspectors who come approximately three times during the building process. If you will check the home page, you will see that MLC Real Estate Inspections performs these inspections also. These inspections are performed to satisfy the requirements of the 10-year warranty companies.

The problems are:

 
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the builder picks the inspector
the builder pays the inspector
so the inspections are not “third party”
the normal fee for a warranty inspection is about $60. per visit
that is very small for time and travel and indicates the time spent on these inspections
a stage inspection by MLC costs more and more time is spent on the site – with you!
the warranty inspection is more cursory as you might imagine

The fact is that pre-owned homes have maintenance caused problems,

new homes have installation caused problems.

Mike should I have my new home inspected thru the construction process? Absolutely!

So what is a construction stage inspection?

The buyer of a new home has the following options.

The three recommended inspections are:

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4. 		concrete pre-placement inspection – to confirm that the builder has installed the foundation and reinforcement to the specifications of the engineer who designed it – foundations are designed specifically for the home and the location – they are highly dependent on soil conditions – this inspection judges the integrity of the moisture barrier, steel placement, plumbing, adequacy of forms, just to name a few things

framing inspection – actually this occurs after the roof covering and rough electric/a/c/plumbing has been installed – you can see how many things are involved and is one of the few times that an inspector can actually “see behind the walls”

final inspection – performed just prior to the “walk-thru” with the builder – it judges the operational/installation of all accessible components within the home

revisits – the purchaser can arrange revisits after any of the above should they suspect that work has not been adequately performed

The homebuyer can schedule any or all of the above, as they wish. Each inspection is priced and reported on individually.

The homebuyer is encouraged to be at all inspections.

Pricing can be found under the home page pricing button.