New construction communities, with an agent on your side

Before Your Warranty Runs Out

A New Home Can Still Have a Real Problem

I know what to look for because I've built and rehabbed in this market for 23+ years — most buyers only get one walkthrough before they're on the hook.

Most buyers walk a new build once, sign the punch list, and move in trusting the builder got it right. I don't do a standard walkthrough. I'm looking at the things a first-time buyer — and sometimes the closing agent — never catches: floors that aren't level from room to room, walls that are out of plumb, a slab with elevation problems, and finish work installed on top of a problem instead of after it's actually fixed.

What I check for on new construction:

• Uneven or out-of-level flooring, room to room
• Walls and corners that aren't plumb or square
• Bathroom walls not straight or not installed correctly to code
• Slab elevation and leveling defects
• Finish work (cabinets, trim, transitions) installed before an underlying issue was resolved — a sign it's being covered up, not corrected

Here's why the timing matters: your builder's one-year warranty clock starts the day you close, not the day you notice something's wrong. I'm currently working a case where a homeowner didn't catch a floor-leveling defect until after move-in. What followed was months of back-and-forth — the builder disputing there was a problem at all, corrective work that created new issues with cabinet and finish heights, and an independent county inspection request just to get a straight answer everyone could trust. It's still working through the process. All of it could have been caught and put in writing before closing, while it was still 100% the builder's problem to fix — not something the homeowner had to fight for afterward.

If I walk your new construction home before you close, or before your one-year warranty expires, I'm looking at it the way a builder, an inspector, and an investor all look at it at once. That's the difference between catching a defect while it's still the builder's to own, and inheriting it yourself.