Over recent years, we have seen the quality of new construction drop dramatically, resulting in increased repairs and maintenance costs to the home owner in the early years of property ownership.  Examples include improperly applied roof materials, improperly sealed synthetic stucco and siding, insufficient electrical wiring, and improper use of plastic pipe and sealants, to mention a few, all of which can have disastrous consequences.  (Click here for more information on building materials that are known problems.)

For this reason, many homeowners now choose to have an independent review of new construction while it is in progress.  AmeriPro whole-heartedly endorses this approach and offers inspections at different phases of the construction process to make sure that your brand new home holds no unpleasant surprises.  (Use the menu on the left to get more information about the different phases of construction inspections AmeriPro offers.)

Why Inspect New Construction?

Many people believe that buying a new home is like buying a new car or a new appliance.  Unfortunately, there are very few similarities between these products and a new home.  Automobiles and appliances go through stringent quality control checks to ensure that these products meet their design criteria.  A manufacturer's failure to meet the specified criteria will likely be noticed during quality control inspection, resulting in the product not leaving the factory until the problem is corrected.  Problems that are not detected in quality control can result in product recalls or even class action law suits similar to the recent Ford Explorer Firestone tire episode.

Although all reputable builders attempt to provide good quality control during the building process, shortfalls sometimes occur.  Quality control problems can arise for a variety of reasons, including overloaded construction superintendents, heavy usage of subcontractors (and even sub-subcontractors), and over-reliance on city or county inspectors.  As a result, quality control can be inconsistent from one builder to another and even among homes built by the same builder. 

In the event there is a lapse in quality control, you can be sure that your home will not be the subject of a recall.  And barring any widespread building material defect, there won't be any class action lawsuit with hundreds of plaintiffs.  Instead, it will be only you squaring off against your builder.  Assuming that you can get your builder to cooperate, you may be able to get the problem resolved without too much difficulty.  But if you have to go further, the expense of any legal action is your responsibility, as homeowner.  In many cases, the builder's contracts prevent you from claiming back attorneys fees even if you win.  We recently found one contract that limited the builder's liability to $500.00 after occupancy and within the one-year warranty period.

It is for these reasons that we have developed a four-phase new construction inspection service.  This allows you to be involved in the quality control process while construction is underway.  The end result is that you have a much better idea about the quality of the product you are buying - i.e., your home.  The cost normally represents approximately 0.006% of the average home price, which is by far less than one repair if a problem occurs.

For more information or to schedule your inspection, call us at 904 268-9989, contact us by e-mail, or use our online forms to ask a question or order an inspection.