New Construction - Phase 3 - Inspecting, Building, and Your first Year

You should have selected all your design options by now, and the weight of that is off your shoulders!  If you need to read more on the last two phases, go back and check out those articles for much more information on that entire process! For phase 1  click here, and phase 2 click here!

The building process should be well underway.  You should be meeting with your construction manager.  He will go over all your options, and this is who you will be in communication with if you have any problems.  Lot preparation, plumbing, and Rebar will be getting installed before the foundation is poured!  Before the foundation is poured, and if you have the time and availability of an inspector ... it would be in your best interest to have someone do a pre-pour inspection to make sure it all looks good.  Depending on how fast the builder is moving, it could go really quick and you could show up the next day and the foundation is already poured.  So you will need to be in communication with the construction manager if a pre-pour inspection is desired.

After the foundation is poured, and the appropriate dry-time has passed, you will start to see the wood get delivered.  The frame will go up quickly.  In just a few days everything will be framed!  Roof, windows, electricians, plumbers, masonry workers will all file into the home after the framing is complete.  It is important for you, or someone you trust, to come by and check on the progress in order to catch mistakes while they are in this step of construction.  It's so much harder and will cost major time and headaches if you find mistakes in the structural areas after everything is done.  For instance we didn't want a wall where they were framing a wall.  If we didn't see this until after the drywall started going up, then there would be some major set-backs.  After all of these jobs are done it will be time to install the drywall.

It is important to get an inspector to do a pre-drywall inspection.  The inspector will look at framing, electrical, plumbing and you can address any concerns before you can't see them anymore!

One example is an inspector came and saw black mold on a lot of the wood that the home was framed with.  The wood had been sitting in rain, and then once the home was enclosed with no a/c for a couple weeks ... the mold really took off.  Can you imagine if the builder went ahead and dry-walled the home?                                                                           

The Dry wall will get installed, and then the taping and floating will begin.  After this, you will start seeing painters, tile and flooring work, and appliances installed ect.  You are getting close!!

Once again, it is important for you or someone you trust, so stop by and check the progress. Make sure it's the correct flooring, make sure they are installing the correct back-splash, etc, so that time is not wasted on mistakes.  You (or your Realtor) will need to advocate for your new home in so many instances throughout this process.  Fight for what you want.  Don't settle!  

Before closing, you will have an opportunity to walk through the entire home and place red tape on anything you want fixed.  Mark dents, paint splotches, uneven tiles, you name it!  They should be able to make these fixes rather quickly, if you were staying on top of the building process.  Once again, an inspector can be hired to make sure everything looks A-OK!!

Closing day is here!!! You will meet at the title company and sign a billion papers.  Your hand may cramp.  There are snacks there for nervous eaters.  

It's time to move in!!  This is where the ladies get excited!! Furniture shopping time (if your new home didn't break the bank!)

Your first year in your new home may include a lot of call into the warranty company.  Everything is never 100% perfect.  Your A/C may need adjusting.  Your heater may fail the first time you want to turn it on.  Your electricity may pop a breaker if you use too many things at once.  All of this is covered under your warranty.  

It is important to note that if you make any upgrades yourself ... for example modifying the porch by extending it.... that it could void the foundation warranty.  Make sure any upgrades you do will not void any warranty you have!!!! Check that first!!

Also, before you have been at the home for one year, you will want an inspector to come out and make sure there are no deficiency with the house.  Usually your home will have a one or two year home warranty.  Anything that needs to be addressed needs to be done before this time period.  It's important to have someone take a look and get all those things taken care of for free under the warranty!

Also, when moving into a new construction home early on into the building process of the entire neighborhood....it is important to know that until most of the homes are built up... it will be fairly difficult to sell your home for more than you bought it for.  When people look at homes that are already built within a new construction community, they typically always end up at the model home and into the same hands/salesperson that you bought from.  They will sell them on designing their own home for the same price.  All that to say, if you take the time to build and design your home, plan on staying at least a couple years until the builder moves out of the model home!!

Enjoy your new home, and get to know your neighbors!!