Do You Need a Home Inspection on a New Construction Home in Valencia Sky, Naples?

Yes, three of them. Valencia Sky is GL Homes' new 55-plus community in Naples, and we have been inspecting homes there at every stage: pre-drywall while the walls are open, final walk-through before closing, and the 11-month warranty inspection before the builder's one-year warranty runs out. The photos on this page were taken on one visit in October 2026. The street tells the story: block walls and roof underlayment on one side of the intersection, finished homes with sod and palms on the other. We inspect both sides, and both sides produce a list.

A new house passes inspection. That is not the same as being right.

Every home in Valencia Sky passes its county inspections before anyone closes on it. Those inspections check code minimums at a handful of points in the build, and the inspector is on site for minutes. Nobody from the county is in the attic checking whether the insulation is at depth. Nobody is running the tub to see if the diverter engages. Nobody is looking at the glass in raking light. That is the gap a buyer's own inspection fills, and it is why the inspection on a new house is a different job from the inspection on a resale.

On a resale we are looking for what has failed. On a new build we are looking at workmanship, and we call out the cosmetic items a resale inspection would skip: drywall finish, stucco, paint, cabinet alignment, the trim that was cut short. Not blue-tape-every-scuff level, but anything a buyer paying for a new home is entitled to have corrected while the trades are still on site.

What we keep finding in Valencia Sky

These are the items that have shown up most often on the homes we have inspected in the community. None of them are unusual for production construction, which is the point: they are normal, they are fixable, and they are the builder's cost right up until the day they become yours.

Attic insulation. Missing in places, low in others, and trampled flat where trades walked through after it was blown. Insulation does nothing where it has been compressed. On a Florida house this is the finding that shows up on the power bill every month for the life of the home.

Flat roof tiles cracked straight across. Flat-profile concrete tile is the look right now, and on the homes we have inspected we keep finding tiles cracked horizontally, in some cases clean through. A cracked tile is a path for water into the underlayment, and the underlayment is what is actually keeping the house dry.

A potential roof leak. Found on an 11-month inspection. Eleven months is enough time for one wet season to find the weak spot, which is exactly why the inspection is timed where it is.

Scratched window glass. Stucco and sand on the glass after installation, cleaned with a rag, and the grit does the rest. It looks like haze until the sun hits it. Impact windows are expensive to replace, and this is a warranty item only while the warranty is open.

The tub spout and the diverter. The spout was not set tight to the wall, leaving a gap, and the diverter was not fully engaging; pull it and the spout and the showerhead run at the same time. A ten-minute fix for the plumber, and the kind of thing an owner lives with for years because it seems too small to call about.

The garage door. Installed, operating, and loud. Installed is not the same as acceptably installed, and an opener that was never adjusted is a warranty item.

What is an 11-month warranty inspection?

It is a full inspection of the house in the eleventh month after closing, and its only purpose is to produce the list you submit to the builder before the one-year workmanship warranty expires. Everything on the list is the builder's cost. The same item found in month thirteen is yours.

The first year is also when a new house shows you what it is going to do. Settlement cracks appear, doors start to rub, the roof goes through a wet season, the air conditioning runs through a full summer. The inspection catches what has moved and documents it with photos while the builder is still obligated to fix it. Read your own warranty paperwork for the exact date and the way claims have to be submitted; a list that arrives after the date is a list the builder can decline.

Book it in month ten. That gives the inspection, the report and the builder's response time to happen on the right side of the anniversary.

The three inspections, in order

Pre-drywall. Before the walls close, we look at the framing and the electrical, plumbing and mechanical rough-ins while every one of them is visible. After drywall, those systems are inspected by the symptoms they produce.

Final walk-through. A full inspection of the finished home before closing: roof, attic, exterior, every room, every system run, every window and door operated, and the workmanship items the builder's own punch list missed. The report goes to the builder before you sign.

11-month warranty. Described above. If you had the first two, this one is short. If you did not, this is the last chance to get a year of findings fixed at no cost.

One more thing about new, tight houses

New homes in Southwest Florida are built sealed for energy efficiency: impact glass, foam, a tight envelope. That is good for the power bill and it changes how the house breathes, and we are seeing higher radon readings in newer construction than most buyers expect. Patriot runs the only certified radon laboratory in Southwest Florida, so a radon test with the final or the 11-month inspection is analyzed in-house and the result is back with the report.

If you are buying or have just closed in Valencia Sky

If you are under contract, book the pre-drywall inspection the week the roof goes on and the final the week before closing. If you closed in the last year, count forward to month ten and book the 11-month inspection now, before the date gets away from you. Schedule a new construction inspection online or call (239) 826-5866. Houses from $450, priced by square footage.

Questions people ask about this

Do you need a home inspection on a new construction home in Naples?

Yes. A new home passes county inspections, which check code minimums at a few points in the build; nobody from the county checks whether the attic insulation was trampled flat, whether the roof tiles cracked, or whether the tub diverter works. The brand-new homes Patriot Home Inspections has inspected in Valencia Sky have produced lists of items for the builder to correct at every stage, from pre-drywall to the 11-month warranty inspection.

What is an 11-month warranty inspection?

A full inspection of a new home done in the eleventh month after closing, before the builder's one-year workmanship warranty expires. The report becomes the warranty claim list: everything found is submitted to the builder to fix at the builder's expense. After the first anniversary, most of those items become the owner's cost.

When should I schedule the 11-month warranty inspection?

Book it in month ten so the inspection happens in month eleven and the list reaches the builder with time to spare before the one-year date. Check your own warranty paperwork for the exact deadline and how claims have to be submitted; a list delivered after the date is a list the builder can decline.

What do inspectors find in new construction homes in Naples?

In Valencia Sky, the items Patriot has found most often are missing, low or trampled attic insulation, flat-profile roof tiles cracked straight across, window glass scratched by post-installation cleaning, a tub spout set off the wall so the diverter did not fully engage, a garage door that was installed but not adjusted, and a potential roof leak caught on an 11-month inspection. Plus the cosmetic workmanship items in drywall, stucco, paint and cabinet alignment that a new-home buyer is entitled to have corrected.

What is the difference between a pre-drywall, final and 11-month inspection?

Pre-drywall happens before the walls are closed, while the framing and the electrical, plumbing and mechanical rough-ins are still visible. The final, or pre-closing, inspection is a full inspection of the finished home before you sign. The 11-month warranty inspection documents everything that has shown up in the first year of living in the house, while the builder is still responsible for it.