A new home is flawless, right? Well, that's the theory anyway. Unfortunately, assuming a new home has no defects can be a costly misconception. No home, not even a new one, is perfect.

People build homes. People are capable of making mistakes and often do. Believing the products they create are always free of defects is unrealistic. One reason new homes nowadays have more defects than those in earlier times has to do with the changing construction industry.

Years ago, the larger construction companies all had regular, full-time crews who were familiar with the repetition of homes being built. Today, however, larger projects are subcontracted to a growing number of smaller subcontractors. It is, therefore, increasingly difficult for builders and developers to maintain quality control.

Today's subcontractors are paid by the piece as compared to years past when they made an hourly wage. Because of this system, subcontractors are motivated to finish a project as quickly as possible and move on to the next one. Of course, the faster they go, the more mistakes they are likely to make.

This change in the building industry has caused construction-defect litigation to mushroom over the past 15 to 20 years.

"We see the same issues day in and day out," says Matt Ober, attorney with Swedelson & Gottlieb, a southern California law office specializing in construction defect cases. "Most cases revolve around water intrusion of some kind involving leaking roofs, windows, and sliding doors or sidewalls and foundations. Most are the result of improperly installed flashing (materials used to seal penetrations through the building) or poor grading, drainage, and waterproofing."

So what can the consumer do? Ober suggests having an inspection by a professional real estate inspector. Buyers are not trained to recognize these defects. Even if they were, they often are too involved in the home emotionally to make a logical decision. Having a set of impartial, well-trained eyes inspect the property is one of the best and most cost-effective methods of consumer protection available. Ober says it is natural for new homebuyers to rely on the builder to construct a home free of defects.

"Although the municipal inspectors review the property, that is not enough," adds Bob Fennema of Criterium-Fennema Engineers in San Diego. "Municipal inspectors are doing a cursory review, rarely spending more than a couple of minutes on each property, and they may only look at 20% of the homes. The fact is, with construction booming, the workloads are just too high for city inspectors to look at everything."