New Home Checklist

Contrary to popular opinion, there is no such thing as a perfect new house. A particular house may be "perfect" for you and your family, but perfectly built? No way.

Buyers of existing houses realize this. After all, purchasing a used house is akin to buying a previously owned vehicle. You expect a few flaws here and there.

Unfortunately, buyers of newly built houses don't think the same way. New cars come off the production line without a ding. So do most other products, so why not houses?

But there's no such thing as a flawless new house. Strive as builders might to erect houses with zero defects, there are simply too many parts and too many people involved in putting them together for any home to be totally free of problems.

Usually, the flaws are small things that can be corrected rather easily. A scuff mark here, perhaps, or a broken tile there. But sometimes the problems can be whoppers, like a leak in a pipe hidden behind a wall or under the floor.

That's why buyers should maintain a wary vigil when they tour their new palaces for a final inspection just before the closing. Anything less and you could lose the opportunity to have problems corrected at the builder's expense.

Known as the "walk-through," the pre-settlement inspection is the method the best builders use to introduce new owners to their homes. Among other things, they use the time to explain how the appliances operate, show where the water cutoff is located, and explain how to care for the carpet and countertops.

The walk-through is also the moment of truth, the hour or two during which the builder and buyer give the house a final once-over in search of a chipped tub, a balky back door or a malfunctioning light fixture.

The best builders will perform their own final inspection before touring the house with its new owner. That way, they can spot and repair problems before the buyer ever sees them.

But too many builders don't do that. Some don't even walk through the place with the buyers in tow. They simply hand over the keys and walk away, leaving the buyer on his own to spot flaws and report them.

"Builders fall into two broad categories," says customer service expert Carol Smith of Home Address in Monument, Colo. "Those who deliver houses with only a small number of items that may need attention, and those who don't even understand what complete and clean means."

Whereas the typical builder might want to close on a house with 10 to 30 items that require attention, says Smith, the worst offenders think "it's perfectly acceptable" to have upward of 100 things that still need work.

Checklists lacking
Worse, perhaps, there are still a good number of builders who don't use pre-delivery checklists when they tour a house during the final inspection. And without that, the chances of overlooking problems increase exponentially.

Savvy buyers will have determined into which category their builders fit before they signed a purchase agreement. But either way, it's wise to take as much time as you need to be thorough during the final walk-through.

Here's a detailed checklist of things you should be looking at. It is far from exhaustive, but if you follow it, you will be able to spot the lion's share of cosmetic flaws that are part and parcel of every new home:

 Open and close all doors. Make sure all six sides are painted – front, back, top, bottom and both ends. Be certain locks, including deadbolts, operate properly without binding, and that thresholds are adjusted correctly. Look for warping. Hinges should be clean and free of paint.

Sometimes doors must be trimmed to fit. Make sure the cut is at the bottom, that it's straight, and that so much hasn't been cut off that the door is now hollow at the bottom.

 Open all windows. Determine that locks operate properly. Tracks should be lubricated to prevent binding. Make sure screens are in place and not torn. Look for broken panes.

 Walk the perimeter of each room, checking floor and ceiling moldings to be sure they are uniform. Look for gaps that need caulking, protruding nail heads and proper finish.

 Examine all wall and ceiling surfaces under natural light and, if possible, at night under artificial illumination. Poor drywall work tends to show most when the lights are on. Look for visible seams, nail heads that have popped out and other irregularities.

 Be sure all wall outlets and switches operate correctly. Test light fixtures, making certain they are attached securely and contain the correct-wattage bulbs.

 Tile and vinyl flooring should be clean and free of chips and cracks. Check for missing grout, and be sure molding is installed and painted or stained.

 Walk all carpeted areas, checking for loose fits at the edges, ripples in the middle and squeaks in the subfloor.

 Be sure the builder explains how the house's mechanical systems work – the electrical service panel, the furnace and water heater, the thermostat. Also find out where the water shutoffs are located for each connection.

 In the kitchen, check countertops for scratches and abrasions, a frequent complaint. Counters are a magnet for toolboxes from every trade.

Also make sure the cabinets and appliances are level and properly anchored to the wall or secured to the countertops, that all doors and drawers open fully and without binding, and that wallpaper is plumb and the seams are tight, especially around backsplashes.

 Ask for the instruction manuals for every appliance in the house – the range, refrigerator, dishwasher, furnace, heat pump, water heater, electronic thermostat, everything.

 In the bathrooms, look for scratches and nicks in the sink as well as the shower enclosure and tub. Workmen like to put their toolboxes there as well.

Be sure the walls are square. Otherwise, the tile floor or patterned vinyl floor will be askew. In such a small space, anything that's out of line will become a constant source of irritation.

Check that the sink and tub stoppers hold water, and that the shower strainer is fastened securely.

Make certain the toilet is securely fastened to the floor. Don't test the commode by trying to rock the fixture back and forth. That will break a seal that's correctly installed. Just sitting on it is enough to tell if it is tight.

While sitting there, close the door and take a long, hard look at the walls and other surfaces to make sure they are acceptable. Flaws show up most when semi-gloss paint is used, and that's what bathrooms should be painted with, not flat paint.

While you're at it, be sure to see if the toilet-paper dispenser is at the right distance and height. If it isn't, you may have to be a contortionist to reach the roll.

 Check the basement walls for cracks and water damage. Find out how the sump pump works. If you have a crawl space, find out where the vents are located.

 If you have an attic and plan to use it for storage, ask if there are any weight restrictions. Find out how the attic ventilation system operates.

 Check exterior paint for defects. Be certain all openings are caulked and there are no gaps for air to infiltrate. Look for cracks in the driveway and garage floor.

 Make sure the yard is graded properly. The ground should slope away from the house gradually.

Stand your ground
With some builders, defects discovered after you move in are your problem, not theirs. So be careful. You may have to live with what you don't find until it's too late.

Customer service expert Smith suggests allowing a couple of days between the walk-through and closing just in case the builder needs a few more days to finish. But she says not to close on the purchase until the number and nature of items on your list are those you can do yourself or you can live with. "Only then is it safe," she advises.

Builders have been known to try to pressure customers into closing even though there is a laundry list of outstanding issues. But stand your ground. Builders live and die on cash flow, so you have some power, too.