You aren't worrying for nothing. For starters, I'd ask both builders for a list of homes they've built, and a list of homes they are currently building.

I'd visit every home listed. If at all possible talk to the home owners. Ask questions. For example:
Did the builder come in on time/ on budget?
Are you happy with the quality of the subs' work?
What would you do differently if you could?
Would you use the same builder again?
Any advice?

We got some excellent advice from home owners - most of them were happy to share their experiences (both good and bad).

Whatever you do, plan on going over budet by 10 to 20%. If you don't, great, but if you do, then you will have planned for it. There is almost always something that comes up that no one can control.

Thanks!

The larger builder we've seen their work by walking the model spec houses. I'm able to research them online, although I haven't yet.

With the other builder, the problem is, we've asked for references and so far he hasn't sent them. We've been dealing with this guy since meeting him August 3rd; I just don't feel like we've gotten any where or any closer to saying yes, we will go with him.

From what I can see, the land itself has been for sale for 3 years, the house plans over a year. This tells me something.

QUOTE: "...the problem is, we've asked for references and so far he hasn't sent them. We've been dealing with this guy since meeting him August 3rd... the land itself has been for sale for 3 years, the house plans over a year..."

RED FLAGS!
RUN (don't walk). The market is in a downturn, this is a buyer's market. You should feel very comfortable. Believe your gut instincts.

Have you ever heard the quote "when in doubt-don't?" Fairly applicable here, I'd say.

I just wanted to mention that seeing spec houses is not the same as seeing what he's built for his customers. Whoever you decide to go with, be sure you see more than spec houses. Ask to see houses that were built several years ago (to see how they're holding up) as well as newer ones (the experience is fresh in people's memories). Spec houses are always nice, they're meant to sell you on a builder after all!!

Hi! We went through the whole "How to choose a builder" dilemna in January-April 2006, and I came away from the process with a few ideas for weeding out the baddies. I wrote them up on our house journal:
http://hmp2z.wordpress.com/choosing-a-builder/

We did an excellent job choosing our builder; we pat ourselves on the back at least weekly :)

Cheers!
Heather W

Here is a link that might be useful: Choosing a Builder

Cork2win, what I've also been doing is looking in other communities at houses that are on the market so that I can see what it's like as a used house.

riddei, I just emailed the smaller one and put it in writing. We'll see how long it takes and if he does.

Here are a few tips I can think of:

Take complaints seriously, don't let anyone tell you the complainer is just a whiner or that there was only one complaint or it was resolved. Oftentimes even one complaint can be a tip of the iceberg thing.

Do not rely on BBB's or state agencies for accurate reporting of complaints on file. I personally feel that the only time these are useful is to eliminate builders who have a bad report there, but a report of no complaints does not really mean there aren't any. It may only mean they're not reporting it. I am one of many I know of now who was misled by apparently satisfactory reports from these, when actual complaints were on file and not made public. My own builder complaint wasn't ever made public. That's in part why people often get online and file them at "gripe sites." Also, not all people with a complaint actually file one anywhere you'll see it. Arbitration clauses that force many complaints into a private arbitration process are almost never a public record. I think Calif. is an exception but I've heard there is poor enforcement or reporting of it.

You say you're thinking of buying from a "major builder." IMO that's where most of the "major problems" come from, LOL! Big builders take many shortcuts from what I've seen, and because they're big they tend to have many lawyers working for them, so if there's a problem you can bet the contract and the system are stacked against you every time.

That's not to say small builders are all good, or all big builders are bad, it's a generalization that big builders operate this way.

Use the internet, of course.

When you ask people about their satisfaction with the builder realize that some won't talk or will lie. People are afraid of hurting their property values especially now that values are falling and some buyers are facing foreclosure due to risky loans.

On the topic of loans, BTW, avoid using the builder's lender. I am not personally involved in any lending issues but lately a lot more builder complaints come packaged with predatory lending stories. Google some big builder's names with the word mortgage or loan or default or foreclosure and you'll likely find out.

Last but not least, learn to spot the construction problems so you can avoid builders who are doing them. One of the board's former regulars, SusieSnowflake, educated many here on window flashing. Now i can see that almost no builders in my area use any window flashing. If I was going to spend days or more researching a builder's background, I would first find one that can flash a window right! Once you learn some of the problems I think you'll be bypassing a lot of the builders youi once thought were impressive.

Here is a link that might be useful: HADD

Fathen, thank you for the link, it wasn't one I'd run into yet. I will also look into window flashing

To update this, Hubby & I spoke last night. We'd almost committed to the place I liked, but he's not so sure about that either. We'd gotten a great deal when we went down Sunday.

Our listing is expired. I interviewed new agents, and the price of our current house will have to go down, so less money for a new place. This takes the 12 acres w/ house off of our list.

We plan to still go down to the builder I liked to see what kind of deals he can still come up with. If they could bring the house down $75,000 on the one Sunday, they should be able to find us one in a new price we are comfortable with.

I want to thank everyone for their input. When I told hubby to expect to possibly go over by 10 - 20%, I think that got him thinking and opened him up to someone else.

I hope that tomorrow brings us a nice new house that we will be comfortable paying on.

While we were there Sunday, I did speak to a few people that had a wonderful experience with this builder.