Research your builder. It’s not enough to scan a builder’s Web site. If the company is publicly traded, check its Securities and Exchange Commission filing at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. Look for clues to its financial health, including bankruptcies and large liabilities. Consult your local Better Business Bureau and the one where the builder is headquartered for a complaint history. Get a list from your builder of all subcontractors to be used, and check them out with the BBB, too. Check for builder complaints at your state consumer-affairs department or attorney general’s office. Browse homeowner chat groups at www.hadd.com and www.hobb.org. Most important, talk to residents of other housing developments by the same builder.
Hire an experienced real-estate lawyer. An experienced residential real-estate attorney should review your contract before you sign it, and also the home warranty. Make sure the purchase contract includes clauses that protect you. Such clauses should state that materials must be installed according to manufacturer instructions, that you must approve changes in materials, that you have the right to have an engineer inspect the home at key stages of completion (foundation, framing, installation of plumbing and HVAC systems, roofing, and walk-through), and that the home will be completed before closing. (Attorney fees vary. In the New York City area, the cost is $650 to 1 percent of the purchase price.)
Hire a qualified home inspector. Preferably, the inspector should be an engineer or architect. Buyers of new houses should monitor construction with their home inspector at each stage of completion so errors can be corrected promptly. Buyers of older houses should have a thorough inspection of all structural and mechanical systems (plumbing, air conditioning, heating, and the like). The inspector should have insurance against liability errors and omissions. The National Academy of Building Inspection Engineers (www.nabie.org), and the American Society of Home Inspectors (www.ashi.org), can make a referral. NABIE members are prohibited from taking payments from real-estate brokers. (Cost for a visual inspection: $350 to $500 for a 2,500-square-foot home less than 50 years old.)
If you’re considering buying an existing home, check the insurance-claim history by asking the seller to provide you with a copy of the CLUE or A-PLUS report.
Hire an experienced real-estate lawyer. An experienced residential real-estate attorney should review your contract before you sign it, and also the home warranty. Make sure the purchase contract includes clauses that protect you. Such clauses should state that materials must be installed according to manufacturer instructions, that you must approve changes in materials, that you have the right to have an engineer inspect the home at key stages of completion (foundation, framing, installation of plumbing and HVAC systems, roofing, and walk-through), and that the home will be completed before closing. (Attorney fees vary. In the New York City area, the cost is $650 to 1 percent of the purchase price.)
Hire a qualified home inspector. Preferably, the inspector should be an engineer or architect. Buyers of new houses should monitor construction with their home inspector at each stage of completion so errors can be corrected promptly. Buyers of older houses should have a thorough inspection of all structural and mechanical systems (plumbing, air conditioning, heating, and the like). The inspector should have insurance against liability errors and omissions. The National Academy of Building Inspection Engineers (www.nabie.org), and the American Society of Home Inspectors (www.ashi.org), can make a referral. NABIE members are prohibited from taking payments from real-estate brokers. (Cost for a visual inspection: $350 to $500 for a 2,500-square-foot home less than 50 years old.)
If you’re considering buying an existing home, check the insurance-claim history by asking the seller to provide you with a copy of the CLUE or A-PLUS report.
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