Newer Home Inspection - 2 , 5 and 10 Year Old Homes

 2 Year old house:

What’s to like about a two year old house? 

· It has a two-year history. Everything about it is still ahead of it but you now have two years by which to judge the house.

· It is a safer building and more convenient than all of its predecessors.

· It won’t contain asbestos, Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing, Chlordane, mold, lead pipes, Copper pipes with lead solder joints, lead paint, Copper gas lines, R-22 Freon, etc.

· It will be more energy efficient. It will contain more attic insulation. It will be equipped with high-efficiency air conditioning and heating equipment and therefore utility bills are likely to be lower

· It will be equipped with many devices and appliances that have been greatly improved; among them are uncharacteristically quiet garage door openers.

· It may even be equipped with remote-controlled ceiling fans, lights that shut off by themselves whenever no one is in the room.

· It will likely come with a security system already installed.

· It will likely be equipped with a lawn sprinkler system with water-saving devices such as rain sensors and buried sprinkler lines that no longer water the pavement.

· Most of the warranty issues (if there were any) have likely been resolved by now. Most defects and deficiencies have been discovered by the owner by now.

· There should be landscaping and sod by now. The sod should be well-established and anchored by now.

· The bumpy lawn should be flattened out by now and the irrigation should be under control.

What’s not to like about a two year old house?

· Very little. It’s still considered to be new.

5 Year old house:

What’s to like about a five year old house?

· It has a 5-year history. Everything about it is still ahead of it but you now have 5 years by which to judge the house.

· It is a safer building and more convenient than all of its predecessors.

· It won’t contain asbestos, Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing, Chlordane, mold, lead pipes, Copper pipes with lead solder joints, lead paint, Copper gas lines, R-22 Freon, etc.

· It will be energy efficient. It will contain an abundance of attic insulation. It will be equipped with high-efficiency air conditioning and heating equipment and therefore utility bills are likely to be lower

· It will be equipped with many devices and appliances that have been greatly improved.

· It may even be equipped with remote-controlled ceiling fans, lights that shut off by themselves whenever no one is in the room.

· It will likely come with a security system already installed.

· It will likely be equipped with a lawn sprinkler system with water-saving devices such as rain sensors.

· Many past issues (if there were any) have likely been resolved by now. Most defects and deficiencies have been discovered by the owner by now.

· The front and rear lawns should be well-established by now.

· The irrigation of the lawn should be reliable and under control.

What’s not to like about a five year old house?

· Very little.

10 Year old house:

What’s to like about a 10 year old home?

· It should still have the original major appliances and they all should still work. If so, they will be on the declining side of their half-life. With the exception of the heating and air conditioning system, most major appliances can now be expected to last 18-20 years.

· The landscaping is usually thriving.

What’s not to like about a 10 year old home?

· The painted wood exterior finishes are dulling and need to be repainted. The builder’s grade paints are generally low-grade and are not long-lasting.

· The major appliances are now on the declining side of their half-life and some should be expected to fail or break down during the NEXT 10 years.

· The landscaping is overgrown and we can now see which shrubs and trees were planted to close to the building and which trees and shrubs should never have been planted. Pest control treatments are no longer as effective in eliminating pests and trees and shrubs are now touching the roof overhang.

Tract home:

What’s to like about a tract home?

· They are more affordable than custom-built homes which makes them great starter homes or for those on a fixed income wishing to downsize.

What’s not to like about a tract home?

· Streets are too narrow. No room for parking. Check the neighborhood on a Saturday or Sunday. Most families have 2 cars some have more if they have children or relatives living with them.

· Driveways are narrow. Builders and developers expect families to drive small cars so that’s how they design their garages and driveways.

· Privacy fences are desirable because now more than ever there is little privacy between neighbors; especially tract homes. Particularly true of two-story houses (yours or your neighbors).

· Narrower spaces between property lines. Newer tract homes are being built with spacing more like urban high-populated cities were a hundred years ago. Your neighbor may even be able to change your TV channel…and you his.

· Patios are barely larger than a 4’X4’ concrete pad.

· Newer Home Inspection in Dallas