Frequently Asked Questions about Home Inspections in Atlanta, GA
For over 20 years, Top to Bottom Home Inspections Services has helped Northeast Atlanta-area homeowners and business owners rest easy knowing the property their purchasing is in good shape. A big part of our job includes providing knowledgable, expert-level answers to frequently asked questions regarding the home inspection process.
Our fully certified home inspectors are committed to educating our clients about their new property and its condition, which is why we’ve gathered some of the most common questions we receive from our customers.
New Construction Inspection FAQs
Absolutely! There is no such thing as a perfect house. Even though the house was recently constructed, that doesn’t mean the house was constructed properly or that there are no issues with the house. Issues can often be missed during the construction process by the builder, the subcontractors, and even the county or city inspectors. The bottom line is, you don’t want to move into your new home and later start having problems because of something that should have been addressed by the builder prior to you closing on the house.
As code certified home inspectors (ICC), we are looking for any code violations, safety hazards, and/or improper building practices. Things are missed all the time in new construction by builders, subcontractors, and even the county or city inspectors. These issues can vary from minor concerns that are easily corrected to serious structural problems or safety concerns.
If you are hiring your own home inspector to inspect your new house, then be warned that most builders actually require that the inspector submit their credentials before they will allow the inspector in the home. They want to see that the inspector is licensed and insured, a member of a reputable home inspection organization, and that they’re code certified.
The home inspectors at Top to Bottom Home Inspection Service are licensed and insured, ASHI Certified, InterNachi Certified, and ICC Code Certified. Prior to becoming a home inspector, the owner (Steve Goolsby) was a builder in both residential and commercial construction for many years.
The final inspection should be performed when the house is 100% complete and virtually move-in ready, minus any minor touch up work. Inspections are generally performed before or after the first walkthrough with the builder.
When we say “complete”, that means that all utilities should turned on, a heating and air start up should have been performed, and all included components of the home should be installed and operational so they can be tested. This is very important to the inspection process and should not be rushed as you do not want to pay for an inspection that doesn’t include certain components that weren’t ready for inspection.
Yes. Just like an inspection on an existing home, a report detailing the issues and concerns with the house is provided. Our reports on a newly constructed homes explain the issues we found at the time of the inspection and are very detailed and easy to understand. We also provide the exact code sections that pertains to each code violation we write up in our report so there is no misunderstanding. Pictures of the issues are also included to help showcase discovered issues.
Definitely yes! This is the only way you get to learn about your new property’s condition and status. People need to know the condition of the house so they can make the right informed decision.
