Imagine lying awake at night listening to your brand new, $357,000, golf course home cracking.  Or needing to replace the roof on your new home even before you replace its light bulbs.  Or being forced to move out – just months after you moved in – because of toxic mold growing in your new home.

These are problems that can arise, even in newly-built homes.

The solution?  A home inspection.

Despite what many people think, a home inspection is a must, even when you’re buying a newly-built home.  An inspection by a reputable, licensed home inspector will help you avoid buying one of the 17% of new homes with significant defects. Visit http://www.nabie.org/, the National Academy of Building Inspection Engineers, to find an inspector in your area.

The Wall Street Journal also recommends getting another home inspection (in addition to the one you get before you buy the home) just before the builder’s warranty expires, because some problems don’t show up until the home is one or two years old.  That way, at least, any problems that have come up can be fixed at the builder’s expense.

(For more details on the importance of a home inspection, check out my free report, Home Inspection? Worth EVERY Cent!)

What’s behind shoddy construction?

Estimates suggest that more new homes had significant problems since the height of the real estate boom.  Builders and sub-contractors wanted to build as many homes as possible to keep up with the red-hot demand, at times sacrificing quality in the process.  “The furious pace of home building from the late 1990s through the first half of the 2000s contributed to a surge in defects, experts say.”

Fortunately, you can take steps to help ensure that you don’t buy a home with significant defects, by hiring a reputable, licensed home inspector before you sign on the bottom line – whether the home you’re buying is brand new or 100 years old.

What do you think?  Have you been affected by shoddy new home construction?  Click on the “Comments” link below and join the discussion!