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You bought a brand-new house.
You had your final walkthrough.
You closed.
Everything is new.
So why would you hire another home inspector less than a year later?
Because new doesn't mean nothing can go wrong.
Some homeowners choose to schedule what is commonly called an 11-month warranty inspection before an applicable builder warranty milestone or deadline.
The goal is simple:
Identify potential concerns while you may still have time to submit applicable items to the builder under the warranty.
Many people use the term "11-month inspection" because certain builder warranty provisions may have deadlines around the first year of ownership.
Scheduling before that milestone may give the homeowner time to:
Complete the inspection
Review the report
Ask questions
Submit applicable warranty requests before the deadline
But this is important:
Not every builder warranty is exactly one year.
Coverage periods, procedures and deadlines vary.
Your actual builder warranty documents control.
Please don't put the warranty paperwork in a drawer for 11 months and then look at it.
Read it after closing.
Understand:
What is covered
What isn't covered
How long different coverage lasts
How claims must be submitted
Required maintenance
Notification procedures
Applicable deadlines
Some components may have different warranty periods.
A home changes after you've lived in it.
Systems have been operating.
Weather has changed.
The house has experienced:
Heat
Rain
Wind
Temperature changes
Normal use
Some conditions may not have been visible during the final inspection.
Others may develop later.
A new home involves a huge number of components installed by many different people.
Even with builder quality-control procedures, issues can occur.
An inspection may identify conditions involving areas such as:
Roof
Attic
Plumbing
Electrical
HVAC
Doors and windows
Exterior
Interior
Drainage
Appliances
Other accessible systems and components
The exact scope depends on the inspector and inspection agreement.
A builder walkthrough and an independent inspection aren't necessarily the same thing.
The builder walkthrough may focus on:
Cosmetic completion
How equipment works
Punch-list items
Warranty procedures
An independent home inspector evaluates the property within the scope of the inspection.
Both can be useful.
They serve different purposes.
You should.
If you've noticed issues during your first months in the home, keep a list.
Examples might include:
Door that doesn't close correctly
Water staining
Plumbing issue
Outlet concern
HVAC performance issue
Exterior concern
But you're living in the house every day.
You may not know what to look for in the attic, on the roof or within other accessible systems.
That's where an independent inspection may add value.
The exact inspection scope varies, but a typical inspection may include accessible portions of:
The inspector may observe conditions involving roofing materials, flashing, exterior surfaces and other visible components.
The inspector may look at accessible attic areas for conditions involving insulation, ventilation, visible moisture or other observable concerns.
The inspector may evaluate accessible components and operation within the inspection's scope.
The inspection may identify visible leaks, drainage concerns or other accessible plumbing conditions.
Accessible electrical components may be evaluated for visible deficiencies.
Operation and visible installation concerns may be noted.
Walls, ceilings, floors and other accessible areas may show conditions that weren't obvious at closing.
This deserves attention in Houston.
After living through actual rain, you may have a much better idea of how water behaves around the property.
A home inspected during a dry week may look one way.
Then Houston gives you one of those rains where the sky apparently decides to empty the entire Gulf of Mexico onto your neighborhood.
Now you notice:
Standing water
Drainage patterns
Gutter issues
Water intrusion
Exterior concerns
Pay attention to what happens during weather events and document concerns.
If you notice something during the first year, document it.
Keep:
Photos
Videos
Dates
Emails
Service records
Builder communications
That can help you clearly describe what you've observed when submitting a warranty request.
First, review your warranty.
Then follow the builder's required process for submitting the concern.
An inspection report doesn't automatically mean the builder is obligated to repair every item.
Coverage depends on the actual warranty, applicable standards, exclusions and circumstances.
Not every inspection finding has the same importance.
There can be a big difference between:
Minor cosmetic issue
and
Potential water intrusion
Prioritize concerns involving:
Safety
Water
Electrical
Plumbing
HVAC
Roof
Structural observations
Significant functional problems
Then address other items according to the warranty and your priorities.
Ask questions.
If you're concerned about an issue, request clarification.
Depending on the condition, additional evaluation by an appropriate professional may be useful.
The goal isn't to fight with the builder over every nail pop.
The goal is to understand whether a condition needs attention.
If your warranty has a particular deadline, don't schedule the inspection the day before.
Give yourself time.
For example, you may want enough time to:
Schedule the inspector
Receive the report
Review it
Ask follow-up questions
Submit applicable items through the builder's process
Check your actual deadline first, then work backward.
Generally, this is something homeowners choose as part of their own due diligence and home maintenance; whether any inspection is required depends on your particular agreements or circumstances.
The better question is:
Would having an independent evaluation before my applicable warranty deadline be useful to me?
For many homeowners, that's worth considering.
Good.
That doesn't make a later inspection pointless.
The pre-closing inspection gave you information about the home at that time.
A warranty-period inspection evaluates the property after you've lived in it and its systems have been operating.
Different timing.
Different information.
Even better—you may now have documentation from multiple stages.
You could have:
Pre-drywall inspection
↓
Final inspection
↓
Warranty-period inspection
That gives you a much more complete record of the home's early life.
A builder warranty doesn't eliminate homeowner maintenance.
Depending on your home and warranty, you may need to maintain things such as:
HVAC filters
Caulking
Drainage
Landscaping
Other components
Review the warranty and maintenance guidance.
Failing to maintain something can potentially affect how a future issue is handled.
You still own the house.
That's why this inspection isn't only about getting the builder to fix things.
It can also give you a useful list of:
Maintenance items
Conditions to monitor
Future repairs
Systems to service
Think of it as information about your property.
When you close on a new construction home, don't rely on yourself to remember this months later.
Put reminders on your calendar based on the actual warranty deadlines.
Something like:
"Review builder warranty + schedule inspection."
Do it early enough that you have time to act.
An "11-month warranty inspection" is really about timing.
You want to evaluate the home before an applicable builder warranty deadline, not after you've missed it.
Remember:
Review Warranty
↓
Know Deadlines
↓
Schedule Inspection Early
↓
Document Concerns
↓
Submit Applicable Items on Time
And don't assume every builder has the same warranty.
Read yours.
I'm Marysol Calvillo, a real estate broker helping buyers navigate new construction throughout Katy, Cypress, Hockley and the greater Houston area.
I help buyers understand that new construction due diligence doesn't necessarily stop at closing. Inspections, warranty documents and deadlines can all be important parts of protecting your investment.
Bought a new construction home recently? Pull out your builder warranty and check the applicable deadlines now. If you're approaching a warranty milestone, consider scheduling an independent inspection early enough to review the findings and submit applicable concerns before the deadline.
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