New Does Not Mean Checked
A production home in Viera, West Melbourne or Palm Bay is built in about five months by a rotation of subcontractors who rarely meet. The framer is gone before the drywall crew arrives. The painter has no idea what the trim carpenter finished. The county inspector who signed the certificate of occupancy was checking code items on specific days, which is a real job, and a different one from walking the finished house to see what got missed.
That is the job we do. Every door gets opened and closed, outlets get tested, cabinet drawers get pulled, and the attic, roof and exterior get walked, the same scope as our full home inspection. The findings on a new build are usually small. There are just a lot of them.
Timing is the whole game. Before closing, an item on a written report is the builder's problem. After closing, the same item is a warranty claim you have to chase on the builder's schedule. The findings are identical. The leverage is not.
Three Visits, Three Different Jobs
Pre-drywall
Once the walls close, the framing, rough plumbing, rough electrical and ductwork disappear for the life of the house. A pre-drywall visit is the one chance to see them. Ask your builder when the framing inspection is scheduled and call us at 321-722-7321 to line up a visit around it.
Pre-closing
If you only get one inspection, make it this one. It happens while you still have leverage, and it produces the punch list you take to the final walkthrough.
Month eleven, before the warranty ends
Most builder warranties cover workmanship for the first year. By month eleven the house has been through a Florida summer: settling cracks have opened, doors have stopped latching, and you know which room never cools. An inspection then turns those into warranty claims while the coverage is still open. It is the visit new-construction owners in West Melbourne and Viera most often forget to book.
What We Find on New Builds in Brevard
- Hairline stucco cracks, measured and photographed, with the ones at window and door corners called out
- Paint skipped inside closets, overspray on hinges, paint bridging gaps that need caulk
- Exterior door sweeps that miss the threshold, and daylight around a closed door
- Interior doors that swing on their own, rub the jamb, or never latch
- Cabinet filler strips, toe kicks and end panels never installed
- Soft-close hinges that do not, and drawers that catch
None of it is exotic, and builders fix these readily when each one is written down with a photo. Our blog post Brand New Is Not the Same As Finished walks through each item and what it looks like.
The Builder's Walkthrough Is Not an Inspection
The builder's orientation is genuinely useful. You learn where the water shutoff is, how the irrigation timer works, and who to call. It is also run by the builder, on the builder's schedule, by someone who is not paid to find problems. Bring your own inspector to it, or bring your inspector's report. A numbered list with a photograph per item gets a different reception than "the paint looks off in the hallway."
New Construction Inspection Cost
A new construction inspection is priced exactly like a full home inspection: $299 for homes under 1,200 square feet, $360 for 1,500 to 2,000, and $395 for 2,000 to 2,500, scaling from there. A wind mitigation report, a $125 value, is included free. Military and first responders get $25 off any inspection of $299 or more. The home inspection price list for Brevard County gives the exact figure for your square footage in about a minute.
The free wind mitigation report matters more on a new house than an old one. Newer Florida construction often has the roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections and opening protection the state form credits. The report documents what the house has, and your carrier decides the discount.