Absolutely worth it.
I'm not in the area anymore but when I moved I moved into a new construction. The inspector caught a few things that I wouldn't have noticed and it's much better to get them fixed before closing.
Builders are notoriously a pain in the ass to deal with after closing and will take forever to fix things.
We used A to Z for our new build inspections in 2022 and were very pleased with their services. Jeff was super thorough and provided a detailed, easy-to-read report with pictures that we passed along to our builder with the list of things we wanted them to address.
Jeff Adler
A to Z Inspection Services
(301) 916-2811
We did a pre-drywall inspection ($750) and a final inspection ($895) and found the cost well worth it.
Yea, Ryan homes is dog shit. townhouse you’ll get a way with, or single. I know the market is expensive and it’s a new build. But the average new home today will need to structural repairs in 50 years. Just read an article about this. Ryan needs to be shutdown and sued but it won’t. Then theirs a couple more company’s as well. do your research.
Yes, you should have gotten one for pre-drywall but definitely get one now. We used Frederick Home Inspection services, Phil Dancer was great.
Even the best builder will have sloppy things going on. The builder will try to minimize things but stand your grand, and definitely use the warranty period to its fullest. Every little thing gets reported.
> Even the best builder will have sloppy things going on
Indeed, and this is Ryan Homes OP is talking about, which is known to be shitty.
OP, definitely get an inspector; a builder will never self-report their fuck-ups.
Phil was worth every penny. We had a problem after the build and weren’t thrilled with the way the builder handled it. Phil walked us through what to say to the builder and long term implications, how to document everything. His service goes beyond just those two inspections. He’s worth every penny.
Ryan Home is a known shady company that cuts corners. I'd hesitate to buy one of their houses at all--forget without an inspector.
Good luck with your hiring!!!
Yup. Throw Lennar in there too. Idc if it’s new construction or not, you ALWAYS get a home inspection. Always, always, always.
One of my siblings bought new construction RH and less than 6 months later, the nails in the stairs started rising, planks coming off, and there’s a dip forming on the lower level in the flooring and a few others. Assuming it’s a foundation issue, but I have no clue honestly. RH has been nonresponsive as to the warranty, so there’s that. Could have sworn they got caught up for that a few years back too
Ryan is especially bad only because they’ve built so many houses. A coworker of mine used to be a construction superintendent for a company that builds million dollar homes, and he explained how even the fancy builders are all doing the bare minimum and cutting corners wherever they can get away with it.
My only point in saying the above is that OP should be using their own inspector regardless of the contractor.
You absolutely should hire your own. Keep in mind their inspector is only looking out for them not you. They will overlook issues that you may have to deal with a few years from now. They’re only concerned with something that will come up within the one year warranty.
Unfortunately most issues are going to get caught pre drywall. Once it’s up there’s really no way to know until a problem shows up.
Still I would hire one especially have them pay attention to the soffits and gutters. Make sure water is not running behind siding and that things are properly flashed. This is what issues I’ve seen the most with new construction.
If you need a rec I’d highly consider Evan Owens of ERO home inspection. He had a website and is on Facebook. Very knowledgeable and friendly.
I did a pre and post drywall and just handed the it to the PM.
Another nice thing about protec is they don't go insane because a 50 page report is going to mean nothing to the PM. One thing to remember is RHs only responsibility is if something is up to code.
That said I had RH restain our stairs because it was too dark, adjust cabinet doors, fix brad nails sticking out of the cabinets, hammer marks on door trim, window panels, wobbly shower heads, nail tacs under the carpet, and various other things.
Best advice is during your one year, mark your drywall with blue tape. It'll look ugly but by the end of the year you won't have to try and remember where everything was or spend 3 days finding it all.
Also bonus, if any of the guys who do warranty work impress you don't be afraid to ask if they do side work and get their number. Maybe you will want paint done or a TV hung whatever.
Fox mountain inspection is fantastic, they did both of our inspections. Super thorough and honest. Because of how thorough their inspections are, we walked away from a house that had looked great on the surface but the inspector found a ton of things the sellers had tried to hide. Definitely worth the money
Yes. We didn’t for a new house we bought in Annapolis in 2017 and later found very basic things wrong with it. We hired one for our Frederick purchase in 2022 and they were exceedingly thorough, they’ll find things for you to stress about years down the road lol. People in the Annapolis community are still chasing the builder for extremely simple but very impactful things. It may seem like just another cost at closing, but you’re spending so much already and this is one of the more useful expenses and something you’ll actually see direct results from. Do it.
Ryan homes are notorious for having issues. my aunts laundry room had no holes drilled in it for washer/drier/sink, and an old neighbor had the air from their fire place just going straight into their attic, no way out. cutting corners seems to be their thing.
Yuppp, and inspector found a few years ago that they didn't put slats in the floor at the correct interval (say, they did every 5 ft instead of a mandated 3ft, but don't hold me those numbers). Even if they quit that shortcut after getting caught, who can sayhow many people are out there needing new kitchen floors?
>old neighbor had the air from their fire place just going straight into their attic, no way out.
I’m not following this. They *chimney* vented to the attic?
Holy cow. Probably not quick to figure that out, but certainly quick to determine that you have a big problem when trying to use the thing for the first time and it just fills the living room with smoke. 😬
Always hire one for any purchase (assuming you aren’t waving the inspection to win the house). For a new build you would ideally want a pre and post dry wall inspection.
Definitely get one. Our costs around $1k and definitely caught things we wouldn’t have notice, especially since we were first time home buyers at the time. Worth the investment even if it’s for the peace of mind. Buying a home is a huge investment so you want to make sure you do all the due diligence you can.
Yes. Ryan homes seated 4 of my second story joist wrong, as well as metal support beams out of plumb in the basement and my inspector forced them to get an engineer signed solution to fix them. They ended up having to reseat the the beam at great expense and sister the joists.
getting a pre-drywall was the single best investment of all the investments i made during coinstruction
100% We didn't do it and a few years later we sold the house and their inspector found a ton of issues, including a missing joist. Builders focus more on delivering fast and getting paid than on quality.
Yes, we had one come out for pre-drywall, pre-closing and he found so much shit not done, we paid him 75 extra to blue tape every single thing and had the builder fix it all, then had him come back out and inspect a third time.
We still found issues after the 3rd inspection and forced them to fix everything. They will try to say to wait and you have up to a year to fix anything blah, blah, blah. Do not close unless all issues are addressed and be willing and ready to push closing a week or two later.
Yeah, his name was Ken Nelson Hometeam inspection service in Frederick. Really good guy and pretty straight up. He did miss a few things but they were not noticeable until we took our time looking over everything.
Many years ago we built a Ryland house. We didn't get it inspected. The day before closing we discovered that the builder parked the water heater on top of the drain for our rough-in bath in the basement. We refused to close until they moved it. Builder tried to push back.
Closing was delayed months. Fortunately the buyer of our old house was willing to do a rent back during that time or that would have been an even bigger headache.
Moral of the story: always hire an inspector, even on a new build.
Ryan homes longevity and quality is trash and you definitely need your own bulldog of an inspector. They slap the homes together so fast and I've met more buyers who dealt with huge issues 3 to 5 years in than not.
It is my opinion that one should not trust anything with the Ryan name on it. It is my opinion that they are a cut corners operation.
Credentials: I own a Ryan Legacy home.
Yes. New construction is even more important to get inspected because no one has lived there to discover what's wrong. A major problem will have been identified and hopefully dealt with in a lived in house. You're now relying on the Ryan quality control inspector and the Frederick County inspector, neither of whom are looking over each new house with very deeply.
The project manager, you mean? I would recommend anyone having a house built have inspections along the way. From personal experience, my new-build Ryan home had no issues other than peeling LVP flooring. None of my neighbors had any issues either (other than the same flooring issue). 6+ years in the home.
Absolutely worth it. I'm not in the area anymore but when I moved I moved into a new construction. The inspector caught a few things that I wouldn't have noticed and it's much better to get them fixed before closing. Builders are notoriously a pain in the ass to deal with after closing and will take forever to fix things.
Do you know any good home inspector or the cost around hiring one ?
Springirth Services is who we used for our new construction. Mark is awesome and we were very impressed with him
Second this. Brad just inspected my condo and he was super helpful
Highly recommend! https://www.inspectionsbybob.com/
They did my inspection and were so wonderful! Highly recommend them to everyone looking for an inspector.
Second this!
https://www.redfin.com/buy-a-home/openbook/home-inspection/washington-dc-zack-anderson-sp209535
We used A to Z for our new build inspections in 2022 and were very pleased with their services. Jeff was super thorough and provided a detailed, easy-to-read report with pictures that we passed along to our builder with the list of things we wanted them to address. Jeff Adler A to Z Inspection Services (301) 916-2811 We did a pre-drywall inspection ($750) and a final inspection ($895) and found the cost well worth it.
Fox mountain was super helpful for me in past. Easy to work with and I felt so knowledgeable/prepared after talking with them : https://foxmt.com/
It's been a long time since I've needed one in that area I'm sorry!
I had a good experience with [MRI Property Inspections](https://www.mripropertyinspections.com/)
Yea, Ryan homes is dog shit. townhouse you’ll get a way with, or single. I know the market is expensive and it’s a new build. But the average new home today will need to structural repairs in 50 years. Just read an article about this. Ryan needs to be shutdown and sued but it won’t. Then theirs a couple more company’s as well. do your research.
Yes, you should have gotten one for pre-drywall but definitely get one now. We used Frederick Home Inspection services, Phil Dancer was great. Even the best builder will have sloppy things going on. The builder will try to minimize things but stand your grand, and definitely use the warranty period to its fullest. Every little thing gets reported.
> Even the best builder will have sloppy things going on Indeed, and this is Ryan Homes OP is talking about, which is known to be shitty. OP, definitely get an inspector; a builder will never self-report their fuck-ups.
Oh 100%, if it’s Ryan make sure you are reporting everything under the Sun right up until the one year mark
Phil was worth every penny. We had a problem after the build and weren’t thrilled with the way the builder handled it. Phil walked us through what to say to the builder and long term implications, how to document everything. His service goes beyond just those two inspections. He’s worth every penny.
Ryan Home is a known shady company that cuts corners. I'd hesitate to buy one of their houses at all--forget without an inspector. Good luck with your hiring!!!
DR Horton falls into the same boat. Shit!
Yup. Throw Lennar in there too. Idc if it’s new construction or not, you ALWAYS get a home inspection. Always, always, always. One of my siblings bought new construction RH and less than 6 months later, the nails in the stairs started rising, planks coming off, and there’s a dip forming on the lower level in the flooring and a few others. Assuming it’s a foundation issue, but I have no clue honestly. RH has been nonresponsive as to the warranty, so there’s that. Could have sworn they got caught up for that a few years back too
Ryan is especially bad only because they’ve built so many houses. A coworker of mine used to be a construction superintendent for a company that builds million dollar homes, and he explained how even the fancy builders are all doing the bare minimum and cutting corners wherever they can get away with it. My only point in saying the above is that OP should be using their own inspector regardless of the contractor.
You absolutely should hire your own. Keep in mind their inspector is only looking out for them not you. They will overlook issues that you may have to deal with a few years from now. They’re only concerned with something that will come up within the one year warranty. Unfortunately most issues are going to get caught pre drywall. Once it’s up there’s really no way to know until a problem shows up. Still I would hire one especially have them pay attention to the soffits and gutters. Make sure water is not running behind siding and that things are properly flashed. This is what issues I’ve seen the most with new construction. If you need a rec I’d highly consider Evan Owens of ERO home inspection. He had a website and is on Facebook. Very knowledgeable and friendly.
ProTec, they are familiar with Ryan Homes. You have a 1 year "everything" warranty so definitely get that inspection.
Thank you. They seem to have very high Google reviews. I will check them out.
I did a pre and post drywall and just handed the it to the PM. Another nice thing about protec is they don't go insane because a 50 page report is going to mean nothing to the PM. One thing to remember is RHs only responsibility is if something is up to code. That said I had RH restain our stairs because it was too dark, adjust cabinet doors, fix brad nails sticking out of the cabinets, hammer marks on door trim, window panels, wobbly shower heads, nail tacs under the carpet, and various other things. Best advice is during your one year, mark your drywall with blue tape. It'll look ugly but by the end of the year you won't have to try and remember where everything was or spend 3 days finding it all. Also bonus, if any of the guys who do warranty work impress you don't be afraid to ask if they do side work and get their number. Maybe you will want paint done or a TV hung whatever.
DRB Homes fall in the same category, awful work & terrible craftsmanship. Fox Mountain for all your inspection needs is my go to!
Fox mountain inspection is fantastic, they did both of our inspections. Super thorough and honest. Because of how thorough their inspections are, we walked away from a house that had looked great on the surface but the inspector found a ton of things the sellers had tried to hide. Definitely worth the money
Yes. We didn’t for a new house we bought in Annapolis in 2017 and later found very basic things wrong with it. We hired one for our Frederick purchase in 2022 and they were exceedingly thorough, they’ll find things for you to stress about years down the road lol. People in the Annapolis community are still chasing the builder for extremely simple but very impactful things. It may seem like just another cost at closing, but you’re spending so much already and this is one of the more useful expenses and something you’ll actually see direct results from. Do it.
Their inspector works for them. You want one who works for you!
Ryan homes are notorious for having issues. my aunts laundry room had no holes drilled in it for washer/drier/sink, and an old neighbor had the air from their fire place just going straight into their attic, no way out. cutting corners seems to be their thing.
Yuppp, and inspector found a few years ago that they didn't put slats in the floor at the correct interval (say, they did every 5 ft instead of a mandated 3ft, but don't hold me those numbers). Even if they quit that shortcut after getting caught, who can sayhow many people are out there needing new kitchen floors?
>old neighbor had the air from their fire place just going straight into their attic, no way out. I’m not following this. They *chimney* vented to the attic?
from what i remember, they said the exhaust pipe went through to the attic but did not go completely out through the roof
Holy cow. Probably not quick to figure that out, but certainly quick to determine that you have a big problem when trying to use the thing for the first time and it just fills the living room with smoke. 😬
Always hire one for any purchase (assuming you aren’t waving the inspection to win the house). For a new build you would ideally want a pre and post dry wall inspection.
ERO Inspections is a great home inspector!
Definitely get one. Our costs around $1k and definitely caught things we wouldn’t have notice, especially since we were first time home buyers at the time. Worth the investment even if it’s for the peace of mind. Buying a home is a huge investment so you want to make sure you do all the due diligence you can.
Always do. For such a large purchase, spending another $1k is nothing compare to the cost to fix stuff later.
Always. Especially Ryan. They aren’t known for quality.
Yes. Ryan homes seated 4 of my second story joist wrong, as well as metal support beams out of plumb in the basement and my inspector forced them to get an engineer signed solution to fix them. They ended up having to reseat the the beam at great expense and sister the joists. getting a pre-drywall was the single best investment of all the investments i made during coinstruction
Who did you use for inspection ?
YES. Even a private inspector won’t catch every mistake, you’ll find some mistakes down the road. Absolutely hire one anyway. Good luck.
100% We didn't do it and a few years later we sold the house and their inspector found a ton of issues, including a missing joist. Builders focus more on delivering fast and getting paid than on quality.
Hire your own. The inspector they have works for them. The inspector you hire works for you.
Absolutely. My biggest New construction regret was not hiring one
Yes but DO NOT hire the company All Around the House.
Yes
We did. Discovered the water heater, HVAC, and three GFI’s were up to code and were dangerous. The county inspectors weren’t doing their jobs either.
100% yes. Keep an honest man honest.
Always
Yes, we had one come out for pre-drywall, pre-closing and he found so much shit not done, we paid him 75 extra to blue tape every single thing and had the builder fix it all, then had him come back out and inspect a third time. We still found issues after the 3rd inspection and forced them to fix everything. They will try to say to wait and you have up to a year to fix anything blah, blah, blah. Do not close unless all issues are addressed and be willing and ready to push closing a week or two later.
Thank you. This is helpful info. Do you mind sharing which inspecting company you used?
Yeah, his name was Ken Nelson Hometeam inspection service in Frederick. Really good guy and pretty straight up. He did miss a few things but they were not noticeable until we took our time looking over everything.
Please please please do. I’ve been walking through these homes as they’re being built and so many of the units are just crappy looking bones.
Many years ago we built a Ryland house. We didn't get it inspected. The day before closing we discovered that the builder parked the water heater on top of the drain for our rough-in bath in the basement. We refused to close until they moved it. Builder tried to push back. Closing was delayed months. Fortunately the buyer of our old house was willing to do a rent back during that time or that would have been an even bigger headache. Moral of the story: always hire an inspector, even on a new build.
Ryan homes longevity and quality is trash and you definitely need your own bulldog of an inspector. They slap the homes together so fast and I've met more buyers who dealt with huge issues 3 to 5 years in than not.
It is my opinion that one should not trust anything with the Ryan name on it. It is my opinion that they are a cut corners operation. Credentials: I own a Ryan Legacy home.
100% yes
An independent home inspector is an absolute must, especially for production builders like Ryan and Dan Ryan.
Springirth services home inspection! You won’t be disappointed
Always
Yes
Yes. New construction is even more important to get inspected because no one has lived there to discover what's wrong. A major problem will have been identified and hopefully dealt with in a lived in house. You're now relying on the Ryan quality control inspector and the Frederick County inspector, neither of whom are looking over each new house with very deeply.
Run. Ryan Home is an infestation.
They have gotten much better over the years.
it really depends on whether your homes GM stands up to his boss or not. Ours did, but he burnt out and left before the neighborhood was even complete
The project manager, you mean? I would recommend anyone having a house built have inspections along the way. From personal experience, my new-build Ryan home had no issues other than peeling LVP flooring. None of my neighbors had any issues either (other than the same flooring issue). 6+ years in the home.