This is the question we get pushed back on most. The house is brand new, it passed the city inspections, the builder has their own people looking at it, so what is there for a third party to find? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Builders Make Mistakes

All builders use subcontractors to complete a home quickly. Many times even having to share these subs because of the high demand for housing here in the Austin area. These “subs” are many times in a hurry, under pressure, and minimally paid. So, mistakes are made in every home. The builder’s representatives monitor and revise construction but they too are typically overseeing more homes than they can handle. That means any mistakes made, go unnoticed or are forgotten.

Remember also that each trade covers up the work of the trade before it. Framing gets hidden by insulation, insulation gets hidden by drywall, and drywall gets painted. A mistake that would have taken ten minutes to correct at the right stage becomes a much bigger job once it’s buried.

Builders’ Inspectors Miss Things

Yes, many builders have their own inspectors or contract them. These inspectors are usually paid bottom dollar for their services and perform as many as 10 inspections a day. That is not enough time to thoroughly inspect a home. All this means it’s easy for them to miss problems with the home. Furthermore, since they are paid by the builder, they are liable only to the builder, not the buyer.

The same goes for the municipal inspections. Those are checking the home against code, which is a minimum standard, and they aren’t checking whether the systems actually perform the way they should for you.

Clients Are Ultimately Responsible

When reading the paperwork from the builder, the buyers must pay very close attention to where responsibility lies. Many builder’s contracts put the liability of ensuring the home is properly built on the buyer, who many times is not equipped to do so. We can’t all be experts on homes after all, so the best thing to do is call a third party inspector. An expert inspector of your choice will take the time needed to completely evaluate the home.

One more thing worth timing correctly. Most builders offer a warranty period, commonly a year, and an inspection shortly before that runs out is one of the more useful ones you can get. Anything found is still the builder’s problem rather than yours. That’s a different visit from the one at closing, and both are worth doing.

If you or a friend are buying or building a new home, the home inspection experts at Panther Inspections are fully equipped with the latest technology and techniques to help ensure a new home is performing as intended. There’s more on what’s covered and what isn’t on our what’s inspected page and our home inspection FAQ.

Updated July 2026