New Home Checklist

[gear gal]

We are closing in a week or so and will have to do a walk through. I was wondering is there a short list of things to definately look at during that walk through. I know there a a million things to check, but was hoping to give special attention to the major ones. Thanks in advance...

[redwitch]

Your builder is really good at checking -- at least the ones I've seen in action. So, I wouldn't be overly concerned. Most of the things discovered initially are more cosmetic than anything else. Plus, you have a year to find anything wrong.

Be sure and get the sprinkler system checked within the first month. The AC check is important but not imperative to do immediately.

Some things I've noticed going wrong in new houses are the icemakers (I know of 5 that have had to be replaced in the first year), AC leaks, faucets coming loose.

TV's home warranty department has it down to a fine art about having any problems repaired during the warranty period. This makes the initial walk through a lot less crucial than it usually does in a new home. However, do be sure and get a home inspection close to your the end of your warranty period -- the inspector will find things missed by you during your first year. It is a cost well worth making.

[Mikitv]

Our walk through was about 2 hours before our closing so not a lot of time to really check things out since we weren't here during build time. The week we were here after closing I wrote up a list of things I had found and turned them in per our builder. You do have a year and we plan just before the year end to have our own inspector come through and will turn in anything else at that time. Our only major problem so far has been our sprinkler system and the fact that our lawn is dead and nothing but weeds. Working with warranty right now but they never showed for the appointment we had set up this week. The other things they came out and took care of right away. After building six homes, nothing is ever perfect and you always find something. The warranty department does seem better than most that we have dealt with before. Enjoy your new home.

[bluedog103]

I had a similar experience with the irrigation system installer. Had it not been for an observant neighbor, conscientious lawn mower guy and and an extremely helpful rep from Massey, our lawn would be dead too.
The irrigation system installer assured me everything was set correctly when he came out for our orientation. It wasn't. I went home to New York a week after the closing believing everything was ok and would have no doubt lost our sod, had it not been for some very nice people.
The irrigation company couldn't have cared less.
Everything else with the warranty dept. has been great. When our home watch people noticed a problem I called warranty and they got right on the issue and resolved it quickly before any damage was done.