New Build Doesn't Mean No Problems

I get this one a lot. A buyer calls, we chat about the property, and somewhere in there they say something like, "It's a brand new house, so I figured I'd skip the inspection." I never push back hard on the phone. People are tired of paying for things during a home purchase. I get it. But by the time we're done with the walkthrough, almost everyone is glad they went ahead with it anyway.

New construction has its own kind of issues. Different from a 30-year-old home, but real ones. The crews that build a development are working fast, on a lot of houses at once, often with subcontractors who only see one stage of the project. Things get missed. Sometimes a lot of things.

What I usually find

I'll give you a sense of the kinds of items that have come up on new builds I've inspected just this past year, around Ocala and the SR-200 corridor.

A toilet flange that wasn't sealed. The bathroom looked perfect. Tile was straight, grout was clean. But underneath, there was no wax ring set properly. A few months in, that family would've had a slow leak working into the subfloor and no idea where it was coming from.

An AC condensate line draining straight into the wall cavity instead of out to the exterior. Inside the air handler closet you'd see the PVC running where it should. Outside, there was nothing. Somebody never finished the run. The drip pan was already starting to collect water.

Insulation missing from a section of the attic above the master bedroom. Maybe ten by twelve feet, totally bare. The drywall was up and painted, the ceiling fan was installed. From inside, you'd never know. From the attic, you could see the back of the drywall right there.

GFCI outlets in the kitchen that didn't trip when tested. They looked like GFCIs. They had the buttons. They just weren't wired correctly, and the test didn't pass.

A water heater that hadn't been strapped, a TPR valve discharge tube that ended six inches above the floor, and a dryer vent that connected to flexible foil tubing crushed behind the wall.

None of those homes were poorly built overall. They were standard production builds from reputable companies. The problems came from rushing, and from nobody walking the house with a checklist and an honest eye before closing.

Why builders' walkthroughs aren't the same thing

Most builders do a final walkthrough with the buyer. That's a good step, and you should absolutely do it. But the person walking with you usually works for the builder. They're showing you how the house works. They're not looking for what's wrong, and they aren't crawling through the attic or pulling off panel covers.

A separate inspection isn't an insult to the builder. It's just a different set of eyes, with no skin in the game. I'm not trying to make the house look better or worse than it is. I'm writing down what I see.

Use your warranty while you have it

Here's the part I think people miss. Most new homes come with a one-year builder's warranty on workmanship. It runs out fast. If your inspection happens before closing, or in those first few months after, you're basically handing the builder a list of things to fix while they're still legally on the hook for them.

Wait two years and that same list becomes your problem to pay for.

I usually tell people who are buying new construction to plan for two inspections if they can. One right before closing, called a pre-closing or final walkthrough inspection, and one near the eleven-month mark, before the warranty runs out. The second one catches things that show up after the house has been lived in for a season. Settling cracks, doors that won't latch in the summer humidity, stuff like that.

What this is really about

I'm not trying to scare anybody off a new home. They're often great houses, and most of the issues I find get fixed without much drama. The point is that "new" doesn't equal "perfect." Nobody builds a perfect house, and the people building yours have a lot going on.

Spend a few hundred dollars to find out what was actually delivered. Whatever you find, you'll be glad you looked.