Winston Salem Home Inspector, Reveals why New Home need an independant inspection.

AHI HOME & BUILDING INSPECTION SERVICES
Serves the Winston Salem ,NC Metro Areas
Mecklenburg County, and all of the surrounding counties.

Phase Inspection

NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION (also called phase inspections)

Very often, purchasers of newly constructed home believes that there is no reason for their
new home to be independently inspected by a licensed home inspector at the pre-drywall
stage and / or just prior to closing, by a competent private sector professional building
inspector. After all, new homes are so beautiful!

Buyers may believe, due to the local building inspection department having inspected the
house on multiple “mini-inspections” during its construction, that nothing could have been
missed. Or, they may feel that because the builder or developer is providing some type of
warranty, that it will cover everything. Unfortunately, this is not always true….and when it is
true, it usually costs more time and especially frustration to repair a defect if your furniture and
other possessions are already in the home. And….If the defect is a structural, plumbing or a
roof leak……well, you don’t even want to think about it! Although local building department
inspectors usually have your best interest in mind, they neither catch everything nor do they
inspect the roof, per our experience and research. You should also know that manufacturer
warranties do not cover every component for every condition which might affect them. The
simple fact is that a new home should be in new condition! We are here for your peace
of mind!

Usually, builders and developers have a greater incentive to make repairs or corrections
before closing. An independent inspection by AHI Home Inspection prior to closing will help you
find defective components, improper installations or other new construction issues and will also
provide you with very valuable maintenance information to help you manage maintenance
costs and help you better understand the workings of your home for years to come.

Below are some of the conditions and defects that have been found while
conducting these phase inspections and new finished home inspections:

• Missing attic insulation or no attic insulation (See Pictures Below)
• Improper wiring; defective GFCI’s or electrical outlets
• Roof leaks; damaged roofing; improper flashings; damage shingles (See Pictures Below)
• Damaged or loose plumbing components; plumbing leaks (See Pictures Below)
• Reversed hot and cold water lines
• Poor installation of stud walls, siding and or structural components
Damage to structural components by sub-contractor is common! (See Pictures Below)
• Windows installed incorrectly; damaged windows; seal issues (See Pictures Below)
• Gas fireplace exhaust flue installed upside down & not connected; gas leakage
• Loose stair railings; improperly constructed stairways
• Improper soil grading
• Missing hardware; incomplete trim work
• Improperly secured cabinets; damaged cabinets
• Leaking appliances

This is not a complete list of the conditions that we have found in newly constructed homes,
nor do we find most of them in every new home we inspect. In fact, we are only human and
may not see things in new or older homes that were not visible at the time of the inspection.
However, we provide our services by adhering to the ASHI Standards of Practice for
Professional Home Inspectors and our Clients have been consistently very satisfied that
inspection items that are found prior to the time they signed off on their new home. Keep in
mind that most builders and developers do their best to build a quality home for their Clients.
The conditions found by AHI Home Inspection are typically the result of the complex logistics of
new home construction (particular sub-contractor issues) and the time constraints put on city
building inspectors. There are a large number of trades people (subcontractors) involved in
the construction process and they often work on the home at different intervals, rather than all
at once. When the home inspection issues are brought to the builders attention, they typically
will simply add them to their own “punch list” of final detail work and they will be taken care of
by the appropriate subcontractor.

NORMAL AHI PHASE INSPECTION “CHAIN OF EVENTS”

1) Client (or Realtor) calls Assure to ask questions and schedule an inspection. Hopefully, this
is at least a couple of weeks prior to the preferred inspection date (but if not, we’ll do our best
and can usually accommodate!).

2) Assure provides to Builder any reasonable paperwork they require upon request. (Usually,
this is only requested for pre-drywall phase inspections.)

3) Assure helps coordinate the inspection date and time between Home Buyer, Building
Superintendent, Realtor or others involved.

4) Home buyer is not required to attend the inspection, but we do recommend at least
attending near the end of the inspection to go over a summary, sign the inspection agreement
and make payment for the inspection. Assure accepts checks, cash and Visa, Mastercard and
American Express cards for payment. Credit card payments can be completed by phone, and
we do perform a lot of inspections for Clients who cannot attend, or prefer not to attend. By
State guidelines, any inspection agreement should be signed by prior to the inspection. The
agreement is accessible on our website (home page, “inspection agreement” button) to view
and print, sign and fax to AHI Home Inspections, if necessary.

5) Your AHI Inspector will complete the on-site inspection, provide the on-site verbal summary
if Client attends, then will provide the home inspection report within 24 hours to Client (and
Builder, if so required). The home inspection reports can be accessed from our website, or
faxed to the Client and Builder. On-site home inspections usually last between 3-4 hours,
depending on the size of the home and other factors. Most of our inspections begin around 9:
30am or 2:30pm, but again…we’re flexible! We’re here for your peace of mind.

NEW CONSTRUCTION INFORMATION CHECKLIST FOR BUYER

AHI Home Inspection recommends that all purchasers of newly constructed homes obtain as
much of the applicable information outlined below as possible from their builder or developer:
• Blueprints
• Engineering documents
• Soil reports
• Well or septic documents, if applicable
• Copy of the Certificate of Occupancy (after home finished)
• Copy of signed-off permits
• Warranties for the following:
• Water heaters and heating system components
• Fireplaces and components
• Air conditioning equipment
• Kitchen appliances
• Plumbing fixtures and fixture trim
• Electrical devices and fixtures
• Cabinets and counter tops
• Windows and doors, including garage doors and garage door openers
• Floor covering materials and installation
• Roof covering materials and installation
• Surface finishes; wallpaper, paint, stain, etc.
• Siding and veneers
• Masonry work
• Security systems
• Landscape irrigation systems and materials
• Builder’s warranties

Your Builder may be able to provide you with many of the items listed above (and probably will
have already done so) or can provide you with the names of the manufacturers so that you
can write and obtain any specific warranty information on any products in your home that you
do not have.
Keep all of these documents together and in a place where you can locate them. They may be
helpful to you and to the next buyer of your home!

CALL FOR PHASE INSPECTION PRICING

North Carolina Cites Served!

Archdale / Asheboro / China Grove / Clemmons / Climax / Colfax / Denton
/ Gilford / Greensboro / High Point / High Rock Lake / Kernersville / Level Cross / Lewisville / Lexington /
Mocksville / New Market / Pleasant Garden / Randleman / Rockwell / Salisbury / Thomasville /Welcome /
Winston-Salem / Woodleaf

North Carolina Counties served: Gilford, Forsyth, Davidson