Despite new homes being inspected multiple times and subject to regulation and housebuilder checks, things can still go wrong. Defects found after a home is completed are called 'snags' and they can range from chipped tiles, cracks in a wall or poor finishing on pipes and outlets. According to House Scan, it's estimated that just 2% of new builds don’t have any snags.

Most housebuilding companies give you a time frame to report snags to be rectified but always check the fine print. You may want to pay for something called a 'snagging survey' so that nothing is missed. As for who pays to fix the snags, you may be able to negotiate on the details of your 'purchase contract' so the builder pays for defects, but that is not always the case.

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