Does a Home Buyer Have the Right to Monitor and Inspect Contractors' Work

[Delmuth]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Florida

A little back story. I am in the process of buying my first home. I went to a local sub division talked to the sales person felt good about it and proceeded. This is KB homes and the process is you pick a lot and style of the house. You pick some options and then they build the house. I have picked all the options the permits have been pulled and I see they started staking out the lot for grading.

I am a Construction Superintendent for a large General contractor. I have every intention of stopping by the house daily to inspect and keep as builts as the house progresses. That way I can be sure the house is built to Florida Building Code and keeping as builts gives me something to refer to if I decide to remodel something 5 or 10 years from now. I told the Sales person that I would do this back when I first started talking about the house. They didn’t give any protest.

My first question is am I getting myself into trouble going out there and looking. I'm not the contractor on the job so I am not specifically covered under their insurance. I am more than qualified to do it and do it safely but that doesn’t actually give me the right to. I build hospitals and very large commercial buildings. We allow the owner to come out and tour the job but its typically with an escort. The dangers in a multistory large commercial construction building are a lot different than those found on a residential site. I would be willing to sign a waiver if need be. It is just very important to me that I am able to insure the house is being built correctly.

My second question is how much pressure do I have if I find something wrong. I can call the building Dept and talk to the inspector, They typically don’t handle having things they missed pointed out to them very well but I am not overly concerned about hurting the inspectors feelings. I'm sure the super building the house wont appreciate much either but again feelings have little merit here. He would do the same if the shoe was on the other foot and someone was building him something.

I'm going to do it either way I just want to know what to be prepared for if someone takes exception.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If your contractor doesn't mind you being there, you can be there. If you own the lot you can elbow your way in anyway, but things could get uncomfortable. Choose a contractor who is not going to have a problem with your presence - and one who can deal with your commentary and corrections as construction proceeds.

If you have relevant information to convey to the building inspector, I expect that they'll accept your reports of things to check or verify when inspecting the property at the various stages of completion.

[Who'sThatGuy]

You may want to read your contract and see if any fees would be incurred if something is changed on the project.

If so, keep your mouth shut when inspecting, because if you tell the contractor "you think this wall should go here instead of there", you may just cost yourself a few extra hundred dollars.