“The Truth About New Construction Inspections”

You've inspected thousands of homes. What still surprises you?

David inspects both residential and small commercial buildings, and scopes the sewer line on nearly every older property he sees.

What is the single most common thing buyers overlook?

Water. It is almost always water. Not a dramatic flood — a grade that slopes the wrong way, a downspout that discharges eighteen inches from the foundation, a bathroom fan venting into an attic. None of it looks like anything on a Saturday afternoon showing, and all of it compounds quietly for years.

“The Truth About New Construction Inspections”

What should a buyer actually do during the inspection?

Come. Walk with me. The report is a record, not the product — the product is the ninety minutes where you can ask what something means and get an answer in real time. Buyers who attend make better decisions, and they negotiate better, because they understand what they are asking for.

• Book the inspection before you're emotionally committed, not after.
• Attend it. Bring questions. Ask what a repair actually costs.
• Separate the "must fix" list from the "should budget" list before you negotiate.

He scopes the sewer line on any home built before 1985 as a matter of course — a policy that has saved his clients more money than every other line item in his reports combined.