Bringing home inspectors to walk throughs

no point, inspector is only good pre-contract, once the contract of sale is agreed upon and signed whats he going to do? nothing! try arguing at closing at a new construction and your head will be spinning.

I have had mixed experiences. In another city, I had a great experience where the inspector really thoroughly went through things and items were added to the punch list at closing. The inspector also proved to be very instructive about how things worked, didn't work.

Here in NYC, it turned out to be a waste of time and money. The main thing the guy was interested in was why the sponsor didn't re-do the closets to make them more modern and attractive.

If you are going to do it, as dledven suggests, it is better pre-contract, or at least have an inspection provision written into the contract. If you haven't there's little point, but it is always possible that a really capable inspector may uncover a severe problem you'll want to know about, and may be able to do something more pre rather than post closing. A lot depends on your contract and the inspector.

Thanks

So I'm new to this NYC thing, but are you telling me that no inspector from the buyer comes to check the engineering of the unit before the close? How do you know if the roof of the building is good, the wiring meets code, there is enough hot water for the building, there is no lead in the paint, etc.? I have bought and sold several homes in the US and this always comes after the contract is signed, but before closing and is at the buyer's expense. Do they not do this in NYC? How do you know what you are buying?

any building built before 78' consider you have lead paint, next- co-ops most co-ops wont allow inspectors to check, you can read the financials and ask the board when major repairs were made. NYRE that is the point these are not homes but co-ops and condo's. unless you are buying a brownstone then you would use an inspector.

Thanks, I had no idea. So when you are spending millions of dollars, you have no idea if you are buying a lemon? Who can you believe? The developers, the brokers? What do others do to keep from falling into a money pit?

Inspectos work well for single family homes, where the burden of repair falls solely on the owner. For this, use an ASHI certified inspector. I have signed contracts on houses, with closing subject to an inspection, and have trimmed off the purchase price for extraordinary items. In NYC, inspections are not common -- basically in a co-op, your're buying less than 5% of the shares outstanidng. HOWEVER, if you are buying in a small building (e.g., more than 25% of the share ownership), it is essential that you get an inspections (by an ASHI certified engineer). Pay attention to roof, boiler, pipe system, elevators and pointing/outside facade -- all big tick items. In such instance, make your contract SUBJECT TO inspection. For typical co-ops (more than 50 units) make you contact subject to attorney review. Have your lawyer focus on financial, board minutes (which might mention building structure/future repair issues), and C/O issues.... good luck.

Thanks. I have been looking at smaller buildings so it is reassuring that, should I find something, I will be able to have an inspection before closing.

Does anyone have recommendations for an inspector who specializes in new developments? Thanks.

NYRENewbie--

How do you keep from falling into a money pit? You buy into an established building where you (or at least your real estate agent) knows the reputation of the building and you (or at least your attorney) can read the building's financials.

New developments have been moving in volume because they are sexy, sexy (and I sell them, I have a client in contract on the Laurel) but this is one of their major downside risks.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

hanana916,

I bought a new condo and hired an inspector for my walk through. Apparently the lady who coordinated the walk through had never in her career seen a buyer bring his own inspector for a new development walk through because she insisted that he was hired by my lender. I guess she couldn't figure out why an inspector would be needed for a new development. My thought in hiring him was pretty simple - this was by far the most expensive investment I have ever made in my life and I could probably do a decent visual inspection but needed someone w/expertise for something more thorough. He checked things that I wouldn't have thought of - did all the outlets work (not all of them did), did all off the windows open and close easily (not all of them did), did the sinks drain properly (not all of them did), did the heating and AC work properly, etc. Making sure that all of the items were on the punchlist was key and if some of these flaws made themselves apparent after the fact, who knows how easily the sponsor would have addressed it. You asked for a recommendation for an inspector for new developments but because it appears that very few people actually use an inspector, such a specialist probably doesn't exist. Below is the person I used, who came recommended from a friend who used the same guy when he bought an older home in North Bergen County, NJ. My other suggestion is to read the Wired NY forums and for people that have already gone through their walkthroughs will also be a rich source of what to really look out for.

Good luck.

Inspector Name Gil Hallidy
Company Name ACCU-CHECK Home Inspection Group, Inc.
Company Address Box 1453 Midland Ave.
City Paramus
State NJ
Zip 07653
Phone 800-266-4179
Fax 201-797-1986

FYI -- I did my own walkthrough on a new dev purchase and actually found over 100 punch list items in the hour I spent . . . funny thing was it was MY broker who was getting bored, the building was actually OK with it because in many cases they new it would just come back a month later when we found out . . .