Yes, you should still inspect a brand-new home
An independent inspector on a new build routinely finds twenty to forty items. The walkthrough the seller offers is not the same thing.
The most common mistake in a new-home purchase is assuming that new means finished. A new home is built by dozens of trades working to a schedule, signed off against a code minimum, and handed over on a date that was set months earlier. Things get missed.
The walkthrough is not an inspection
The seller's orientation walkthrough is a demonstration: here is the panel, here is the shutoff, here is how the thermostat works. It is useful and it is not an inspection. The person conducting it works for the seller, and the list they write is the list they choose to write.
An independent inspector works for you, spends three to four hours, and routinely produces twenty to forty items on a house that looks flawless. Most are small. Some are not.
What commonly turns up
- Roof and flashing. Missing or reversed flashing at penetrations and wall junctions. Not visible from the ground and among the most expensive things to get wrong. - Attic work. Compressed or missing insulation, disconnected bath fans venting into the attic, uncapped junction boxes. - HVAC. Ducts unsealed at the boot, registers that were never balanced, a condensate line without a proper trap. - Grading and drainage. Ground sloping back toward the foundation, downspouts discharging against the wall. - Plumbing. Slow leaks at supply connections, missing seals, a water heater without the required strapping. - Windows and doors. Failed seals, out-of-square operation, missing weatherstripping. - Electrical. Reversed polarity at outlets, missing GFCI protection where required.
None of that means the builder was careless. It means a house has thousands of connections and a human being fitted every one of them.
Timing
Two inspections are better than one where the schedule allows it.
A pre-drywall inspection, once framing, plumbing, electrical and mechanical are in and before insulation closes the walls, is the only chance anyone gets to look at the structure. Not every seller permits it. Ask.
A final inspection, before closing, catches everything else while it is still the seller's obligation to fix. Get the resulting list into writing, with an owner and a date against each item, before you sign.
After you move in
Most builder warranties include an eleven-month check, timed just before a one-year workmanship warranty expires. Book an independent inspector for it rather than relying on the builder's own visit. Materials settle and move through the first year, and this is your last no-cost opportunity to have that addressed.
An inspection costs a few hundred dollars on a purchase of a million. It is the cheapest insurance in the transaction, and on a brand-new home it is not optional.