From experience, pre contract review plus 4 stage inspections is the sweet point between price and value.
The recommended inspections are:
1 Pre contract review
2 Pre slab inspection
3 Frame inspection
4 Pre plaster inspection
5 Pre final inspection
I have been looking after people building wwith builders for over a decade now and where I do all five inspections we invariably get to the finish with minimum of fuss.
The other thing you need to remember is that finding defects and knowing what to do about them is two different things. There are many inspectors at a lower price, that will write out a list of defects and give you a report but then you are on your own.
Expect to pay $ 600-650/inspection depending on house size. Yes you can pay less but you get what you pay for and yes you can skimp on some inspections if you underwrite your own risk.
I have many inspection examples on my blogs.