Ronadt wrote:
On the Tarion site it says this:
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The minimum customer service standard allows a purchaser to attend the PDI with a designate or appoint a designate to attend the PDI in his/her place. There is no restriction as to who the designate may be, so a professional home inspector or any other person is permitted to attend the PDI either with the purchaser or in their place as a designate.
http://www.tarion.com/New-Home-Builders ... fault.aspxhttp://www.tarion.com/New-Home-Builders ... 9FINAL.pdfSo, they might be discouraging bringing an inspector, but I'm not sure they can forbid it. Certainly an inspector would be more aware of the "safety risks" of a construction site, if that's their true concern (which I doubt).
Like it says in the bolded print above - Mattamy is not permitted to tell anyone that they can not bring a Home Inspector to the PDI and that is clearly stated under Tarion rules noted above in bold print. If you pressed them to take an Inspector then Mattamy pulls another little trick out of their sleeve called the Code of Conduct that the Home Inspector and Home Owner need to sign. This contract requires that the Home Inspector "remain silent until the end of the inspection". In my opinion this ridiculous and childish contract makes it impossible to help during the PDI even though sometimes the Home Owner sure could use the help.
However, lets look at it from Mattamy's side. Many Home Inspectors show up to the PDI thinking they should do a Home Inspection when in fact that is the worst time to do a Home Inspection. When these Home Inspectors do this they disrupt the PDI and interfere with the PDI.
I offer a service called
PDI Assist that focuses on issues relivant to the PDI but very rarely do I do PDI's at Mattamy built homes. If for example, their PDI Rep gets all grumpy because I am there then it ruins the process for the home owner.
Fact is, a PDI is NOT a "home inspection".
BELOW - I wrote this back in 2008
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Should I take a Home Inspector to the PDI?
This is a great question. Even most Home Inspectors get this one wrong.
Here is my answer.
You could take a Home Inspector with you for your PDI, but NOT for a Home Inspection.
A home inspection is a specific process. It is a top to bottom complete examination of the home and the functional equipment in the home. In order to benefit from your Home Inspection, you will need to live in, and use the house for at least 25 days.
The purpose of the PDI is for your builder to show you your new home in it's completed state, and to make note of scratches, dents, chips, or any other damage to counters, floors, doors, walls, cabinets, cupboards, mirrors, toilets, tubs, windows, glass, etc. It IS NOT the time to do a complete home inspection as your builder, who owns the home during the PDI is not required to allow a Home Inspector to crawl around the roof, open the furnace or electrical panels, examine the attic etc. This can and should be done later.
The Builders Rep is responsible for, and controls the PDI process. It usually takes one hour for every 1000 square feet.
Note everything that is incomplete, damaged, and items that are in good condition. Note areas that are dirty as this dirt, IE- on a hardwood floor, will make it impossible to do a thorough inspection of that floor.
Before your PDI, review the Construction Performance Guidelines on Tarion's website for all issues that will not be covered after the PDI if not detected during the PDI.
Be very diligent and carefully examine all hardwood floors and stairways. Not just for damage like chips and scratches, but also for cupping or crowning.
If after you move in, you notice a dent on your front door and a big scratch on the hardwood floor, then you have a problem. Even if this damage was not done while moving in, it is still, at this point, not covered by the builder and they will not be required to fix it unless you can prove that the damage was there during the PDI.