New Construction Monitoring

Our Services Are Paid For By The Builder

Most national home builders will offer to pay for you to have buyer representation. We think they do this because their contracts are 100% in their favor.

Their salespeople act like they are “helping” you, but they ONLY work for the builder – not you. They offer you free buyer representation to minimize liabilities, but there’s always fine print, right?

The price of your home does not change whether they pay for your Realtor or not – so get the best possible agent on your team! That fine print? Builders call paying your Realtor a “Finder’s Fee.”

This means that your Realtor must go with you to their model home neighborhood on your first visit. If you register on their website, you probably forfeit the right to have free buyer representation.

Don’t give your name to a builder or visit a sales track until you’ve chosen a Realtor to represent you. You probably want to interview agents and take advantage of this perk. Put skills and knowledge on your team, or pay for someone later to protect you and your investment.

Why Do I Need Construction Monitoring

New Construction Monitoring is why I have the nickname “The Protector.” Buying a New Construction Home is not an option in many cities, so most people have minimal experience in production housing. If you do have the experience, is your experience with the technological and energy-saving features offered in 2022 housing?

I’ve been in the Nevada construction and real estate industry since 1986. Having represented around 1000 new home buyers, we KNOW that houses have flaws and mistakes.
I use my building and real estate expertise to protect our clients because PEOPLE build new construction homes.

There are no other Las Vegas Realtors who offer the services that I do for new construction home buyers. Any Realtor can be a chatty chauffeur and take you to new home developments.

But, what else can they offer you? Helping you choose flooring for your house? Buy you lunch while seeing homes? I have knowledge and construction expertise. There’s a difference in Realtors.

They are not building experts. I am a 25+ year Las Vegas Realtor and a former Nevada building engineer, a PE, CE. I automatically look for flaws whenever I enter any house. In general, I do not trust many subcontractors.

In resale homes, I look for cracks in the walls and ceiling while you look at the floorplan. I look for prior water damage, mold, and bowed walls. Even in the backyard, I look for mineral deposits on rocks to see if the yard drains correctly. These are a few ways I protect my clients and drive my family and friends crazy.

Why There Are Structural Issues In New Construction Houses

It requires hundreds of laborers and contractors to build a new home. Meeting deadlines and delivery of homes is a subcontractor’s key to success. Many laborers and subcontractors are paid by the square foot or by the job. Time is money, and they want to finish a house as quickly as possible.

Contractors charge their workers for damage to work other subcontractors have done. If you were working alone on a job building production housing and you damaged something, would you report it? Fixing it would cost you time and money, and if no one knows that you goofed? Hmmm.

Sometimes trusses are cut in the attic to make something fit. No one can see it getting cut, and it will save a lot of time. Hmm… A dozen more trusses are still supporting the roof, so it won’t matter…

Maybe the alignment of a pipe is slightly off, making the pipe stick out more than normal. The drywall worker doesn’t want to slow down and notify his boss to notify the superintendent. This effort to be fast creates walls that bow, and the same can be true about crooked door jams. Ducting may not be fully taped in the attic. There can be gaps between the wall and the eaves or broken roof tiles.

What Can Be Wrong With A New Home?

Brand new construction homes do not have an inspection contingency in their contracts. You have 1 year where you can request a customer service repair. Mark your calendar for 11 months after closing to submit a final repair request for settlement cracks and other issues.

We bought a house in New Mexico where roof tiles blew off because nails weren’t long enough. Builders try to watch out for this kind of stuff but some things are not discovered for years. Long nails are easy to see, but short ones look normal.

After a city building inspector inspects part of a house and signs off on it, no one in charge looks at that area again. Hidden damage is usually in the attic or inside walls. In Nevada, soils testing is another reason to have a contractor on your team.

Would you know what a soils testing report means? Las Vegas has extensive expansive soil pockets. Other areas of the country have other issues including radon. Check city maps and read your reports.

My New Construction Homes Engineering Experience

Before becoming a Realtor, I was an “In Demand” Nevada professional engineer for 7 years. The Largest New Home Builders in Las Vegas hired me to tell them how to build their houses.

I would get very specific in my instructions, telling them what size nails to use for each connector and strap. These details are important because homes are engineered for earthquakes and high winds in Nevada.

New construction home builders also called me when a homeowner had a structural problem. I’d go to newer homes for builders and frequently saw some amazingly awful problems and mistakes.

I’d frequently see cut or broken trusses, sagging ceilings, and even sub-standard building materials. Some of these repairs were simple, but most were very expensive, and in some cases, the house was out of warranty.

Builders often honor out-of-warranty structural issues caused by substandard materials. However, the average structural repair is $40,000-$50,000, so they weren’t very eager to take responsibility.

Those jobs opened my eyes to what problems a house can have without the homeowner knowing for years. This was when I realized that new construction home buyers needed someone like me to protect them and their investments.

What Is New Construction Monitoring?

After you buy a new construction house from any of the Southern Nevada builders, I check on it every week from the time the underground plumbing is installed. We send you pictures and videos every week.

Before drywall goes up, I do a framing walk-through with the building superintendent for you or with you. This is done to verify that your options are all there and things look right. I check for options every week so there are no surprises.

Most builders will credit you for missed options after drywall is hung. Fixing small things can take too much time and hold up production schedules. After completion of your home, we do the orientation with you, and we do more.

What Can Be Wrong In a Brand New Home?

We believe that you deserve to receive the best home possible. The only way to protect yourself and your investment are with knowledge and experience on your team. We covered what I do during construction, but the most crucial service we provide you may be our closing gift.

We want you to concentrate on how your new house functions. Cosmetic issues must be identified at your orientation to differentiate between contractor damage and damage done by movers.

You can easily identify walls, glass, mirrors, and cupboards with scratches and damage. However, houses are high-tech. Between your orientation and move-in, we schedule the best new construction home inspector in Las Vegas as our gift to you.

Energy Efficient Building Materials

With all of the energy-efficient and smart home technologies used in houses today, things should be tested by YOUR PEOPLE. Would you know what a radiant barrier is? Would you know if a radiant barrier was installed upside down? Will you go on the roof looking for broken or cracked tiles?

These are important things to do, and 99% of home buyers think the house looks good, so it is great. The new construction home inspector will check windows, insulation, and HVAC and plumbing systems. Temperatures and features are checked. Cosmetic items are noted, and then you have the builder’s warranty period to discover most issues in your new construction home.

Houses typically come with a 1-year warranty covering everything except cosmetic issues from the builder. Usually, warranties are 2 years for appliances and there may be a structural warranty.

We really care about things you may not notice in that first year and things that damage the home’s systems. When energy-saving features arent right, they cost you money each month – let’s find those problems too.

What Does A New Construction Home Inspection Cover?

According to our new home inspection company, 10% of homes with Low E windows have manufacturing production problems. Do you have a window glass tester? Most new homeowners are never aware that their energy-efficient features are flawed, costing them money each month.

A new construction home inspection tests all systems and temperatures coming out of your HVAC systems. If your freon (now called HCFC-22 and R-22) is low in your air conditioner, it costs you money. Your utility bills are higher every month- possibly for years. It also causes your AC to run more and harder waring the unit/s out years earlier.

We’ve seen cracked roof times and missing flashing where water leaked into walls. With only 4 inches of rain a year, how long can this problem go unnoticed? The new construction home inspection is so important that we pay for it, so no one misses out on having one.

Always Have Your New Home Inspected!

Problems like broken trusses and broken window seals may never be found. When a new construction home buyer goes to sell their home years later, a resale inspection is done.

What happens when a resale home inspector looks in the attic 5-10 years later and finds a broken truss? Or a window seal is broken, or there’s missing attic insulation?

We’ve seen many things found when we represent resale home buyers. Of course, people usually sell after all builder warranties are expired. The seller foots the repair bills because they didn’t get a new construction home inspection- because the house looked good…

What is Tested During a New Construction Home Inspection?

Besides testing windows and going in the attic, our inspector uses an infra-red gun. The gun shows gaps and missing insulation in your walls and ceiling and around windows and doors.

He drones or uses binoculars to check roof tiles and flashing around the house. These are a few reasons why you should have a new construction home inspection even if we are not your Realtor.

Our inspector goes into the attic to look for broken trusses and to verify insulation. Do you know that Las Vegas building inspectors accept a Certification of Insulation as proof of insulation? They do not ever look in the attic. The insulation company’s installer fills out the certificate.

We’ve personally bought 2 brand new homes where we were missing attic insulation. Before there were new construction inspection companies, we had a really warm room upstairs. Guess why?

Before finalizing a new house purchase in 2006, an inspector we hired found a 10 x 10 missing insulation section. With zone cooling and heat, sections of rooms missing insulation aren’t felt as much. We think that new construction home inspectors pay for themselves.

Why I Became a Realtor

After we married, my Realtor wife, Terri, asked me to look at a client’s drainage and foundation problem. We realized after that inspection, how valuable my skills were for new construction buyers.

There was no one else in Southern Nevada Real Estate with my skill set. I’d been watching her for years and wanted to do what she did so I started selling new homes with her in 1996.

I have done free construction monitoring as our clients’ homes were built since 1997. With how quickly houses are built in Southern Nevada, monitoring your new home’s construction can be invaluable to you.

How To Assure Free Buyer Representation From Builders

With the builder paying for you to have your own buyer representation, my services become free. All you have to do is comply with their rules. The price of your home doesn’t change whether you have a Realtor or not, so get the best!

When you do your research online, we suggest you don’t talk to or register with any builder before looking at their homes. If you need more information after seeing a house you like online, ask us to get it for you.

Some builders will say you were their “registered established client,” which will negate your option for buyer representation.

Note: No matter what relationship you establish with a builder’s sales agent, that person ONLY works for the builder. Without a Realtor, you’re on your own. Courts have determined that “being nice to you” does not make them your agent.

Call and tell me what you’re looking for. We save you a ton of time by using our “paid for” program to provide you with housing options. Knowing most developments enables us to help you narrow down housing developments.

There are around 200 brand new construction neighborhoods currently under construction in Las Vegas. With structural options, there are over 750 floor plans offered. We’ve been to many neighborhoods and can give guidance and descriptions.

After helping you locate a new construction home for sale that’s exactly like you want it, we guide you through the process. Choosing lots and writing a contract comes next. Then options and 100 questions. I monitor the construction of your new home after they break ground.

Remember:

• Take Us With You To Look At Homes. You can go back to a sub-division anytime after the first visit without us.
• If you want to request more information from a builder, call me instead. I’ll register you with them. This insures that your buyer representation will still be free.
• See our page on New Construction Homes.
• Use a new construction real estate agent whenever you buy a house.
• There is a society of home inspectors who specialize in thorough inspections. The inspection cost in both new and resale homes is well worth it. Make sure you are using a new construction home inspector for your brand new house.

How The New Home Buying Process Works

The #1 reason to use me as your Realtor? You’ll receive my team and my services, skills, and knowledge from day one. Let us know what you’re looking for, and let’s get started.

1. We send/give you floorplans and pictures in a narrowed-down search before we see homes.

2. We take you to communities that fit your criteria in the areas you want. If you’re unsure of what area is right for you, we will take you on a “valley tour.”

3. After viewing models and communities, you choose a floorplan and development, then we look at lots and discuss options.

4. New construction contracts are mostly not negotiable. There are some harsh clauses, and you should be aware of everything you are signing and what disclosures are presented.

5. If you are getting financing, we can assist, discuss that and give you suggestions.

6. When construction begins, I go look at your homesite and progress every week and communicate with you and the builder. 

Play around with our New Home Search program, and remember that you can call my office, and we will do a precise search and e-mail it to you. If you have any financing questions or would like a lender referral, we know very good and creative lenders.

You can also call or text our office 7 days a week at 702-750-7599. There’s also a contact form in the footer below to start the process or for an appointment to see houses.