A new home feels like the safe choice. Everything is new, the builder has a warranty, and the sales office is friendly and helpful. But the person greeting you in the model home works for the builder. That is not a criticism. It is simply how it works. It does mean two jobs are left open: someone to look out for you in the deal, and someone to look at the house itself. Those are two different people, and I would not skip either one. Reason one: your own agent The sales rep in

She'd been told that hiring an inspector for a brand-new house was a waste of money. The county inspected it. It has a warranty. Nobody had ever lived in it. We found nineteen things.

If you walked into a model home in Green Cove Springs or Middleburg without an agent, nobody in that transaction works for you - and nobody will mention that you can hire your own inspector. Here's what to know, and when.