1.      New homes can have technical design problems – architects do not supervise construction anymore.  Some complicated designs are beyond the builder’s ability or experience. We aren't architects or engineers either, but we usually can tell if there are design concerns that warrent further and more specialized evaluation.

2.      Poor communication- most homes in our area are built by non-English speaking subcontractors that are supervised by English only speaking supervisors.  Think about this for a minute.  Further, do all the subcontractors communicate with eachother?  Rarely.  For example, do you think the HVAC subcontractors talk with the electricians when connecting their A/C units to the power?  Truth is, the electricians are long gone by the time the HVAC guys show up. Many times we see breakers that are too large for the A/C units, which could damage them and cause a fire.

3.      Builder coordination- 90% or more of the home is built by subcontractors who know their trade, but not the others they are impacting.  Plumbers are notorious for cutting framing in their way, compromising the structural integrity of the home.

4.      Detail Control- When there are so many details going on with each house, and the builder is building five other houses at the same time, details get lost.  Each house involves many people, usually split up into sub-contractor groups, each working on different parts and systems of the house. Even for the best builders, it’s nearly impossible to complete this process without missing something.

5.      Poor customer service- Builders don’t like call backs, it costs them an average of $350 each time they have to go back out to a house, so they are not always supportive of the idea of fixing anything they built wrong.  Better to catch it during the building of the house, than later don't you think? 

6.      People make mistakes- the apprentice is doing the work and wants to take the easy road and covers something up.  It happens.  Builders are human. Once we inspected a very expensive home that had already been finished when we arrived.  The plumbing apprentice put PVC cleaner on the drain pipes but not the PVC cement.  The apprentice told the plumber he did the pressure test and everything is fine.  When we turned on the water during the inspection, water was leaking through the ceilings and walls.  The plumber had to redo all the drain pipes, have the drywall replaced, replace the trim work, and repaint the house, delaying the closing almost two months and creating a expensive legal hassle.