Answer: A house is a complex maze of structural, heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical systems. It is not unusual for a subcontractor to inadvertently miss a step in the long, complicated construction process resulting in some kind of defect or system malfunction.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking at a low-end “affordable” house or an expensive custom home, “stuff happens.” In fact, the more complicated the house, the easier it is for someone to accidentally miss a step that may result in a problem at completion.

Home buyers are becoming better educated about this, and the legal wording in most purchase and sale agreements now advises buyers to seek a professional inspection of the property.

The fit and finish work of most new homes is usually very good. The problems typically occur in the subsurface work, where the builder may not be as disciplined.

Here are some problems that professional inspectors have told me they uncovered in brand new homes:

A home where the electrician failed to properly torque the lugs that secure the electrical wires in the service box. When the inspector opened the box as part of his inspection, he saw loose wires and sparks flying as the electrical system was being used. Not a good thing!

New homes occasionally have improperly designed or improperly installed furnace flues. This can result in the flue failing to carry the furnace exhaust out of the building, which creates serious health risks.

Another relatively common problem area is the crawl space under the house. Sometimes construction debris is left behind.

In other cases, the crawl space may be poorly graded and have an inadequate vapor barrier causing water to pool under the house. This standing water creates excessive moisture which attracts wood-destroying insects and may lead to rot.

Sometimes workers fail to connect the mechanical systems properly. For example, inspectors have found bathroom and kitchen fans that vent into the attic rather than into outside air as required by code, plumbing fixtures that are not connected to the drain system, a shower stall that dumped water into the crawl space.

In other cases, inspectors have found materials that were left out. For example, installation of the insulation was not completed, or workers failed to install flashing around the fireplace chimney where it protrudes through the roof, which allowed water to run down the chimney and into the house.

Most brand new homes have to go through a “shake down” period in which problems are discovered and corrected. But if you are the buyer, it is better to have the problems fixed before you take title to the house, rather than having to chase down the builder later.

A professional inspection report provides an objective overview of the house. Discussions between the builder and buyer can sometimes get a little heated toward the conclusion of a purchase transaction, so it’s helpful to have a neutral third party point out the problems that need to be solved.

Fortunately, most builders are quick to correct defects once they have been identified in a good quality building inspection report.

While it’s true that many home buyers have purchased new homes without an inspection and did not experience mishaps similar to those described above, why take the chance?

In my opinion, a professional home inspection is a relatively inexpensive insurance policy when you are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a brand new home.

Steve Tytler is a licensed real estate broker and owner of Best Mortgage. You can email him at features@heraldnet.com.