Hiring a builder is the most expensive single decision in a build
A bad sub costs you a phase. A bad builder costs you the home.
Before you sign a contract, walk this checklist. Not all of it has to come back perfect — but the answers will tell you who you’re actually hiring.
Walk one of their job sites in person
Not the finished show home. An active job site, mid-build. Spend twenty minutes there.
What to look at:
- Is the site organized? Tools and materials staged or piled?
- Is dust and trash contained or everywhere?
- Are the subs working with intent or standing around?
- Does the framing look square and plumb? Are studs spaced consistently?
- If exposed mechanicals are visible, do the routes look planned or improvised?
A builder who runs tight job sites builds tight homes. The reverse is also true.
Ask to see their current schedule
Real builders run a real schedule. Ask to see it.
- Are subs sequenced, or just listed?
- Are there milestone dates, or just phase names?
- When was the schedule last updated?
- How do they handle slips?
A “schedule” that’s a list of phases without dates is a wish. You want a builder whose calendar matches the actual work week.
Ask about cost-plus vs. fixed-price
Both have legitimate uses. The honest answer from a builder about which they prefer — and why — tells you a lot about how they think.
- Cost-plus: Builder bills actual costs + a fee. You see every sub’s invoice. Lowest information asymmetry. Best for high-end custom.
- Fixed-price: Builder gives you a number, eats overruns. Lower information for you. Best for tight-budget builds with locked scope.
A builder who refuses to do cost-plus might have something to hide. A builder who only does cost-plus may not be willing to commit on price for clients who need that.
Ask who the project manager is
Will the person you’re hiring actually be on your job? Or will you get handed to a project manager you haven’t met?
Smaller custom builders run jobs themselves. Bigger production builders run multiple jobs through PMs. Neither is wrong — but you should know which one you’re signing up for.
Ask how they handle change orders
Change orders are inevitable. A builder’s CO discipline tells you how transparent the rest of the relationship will be.
- Is there a standard CO form?
- Are COs priced as cost-plus or fixed?
- Does the builder reconcile actual vs. estimated COs at the end?
- Will you see the sub’s underlying invoice?
A builder who hand-waves change orders will hand-wave the budget.
Ask for three reference clients you can call
Not “three references.” Three reference clients — real homeowners, recent enough to remember the experience.
When you call, ask them:
- What surprised you about the build?
- Would you build with them again? (Listen to the pause before they answer.)
- What did you wish you’d asked before signing?
The five flags that mean keep looking
- Builder won’t show you an active job site
- Builder won’t show you a written schedule
- Builder won’t do cost-plus on a real custom build
- Builder can’t tell you who the project manager is
- Builder dodges direct questions with marketing-speak
None of those mean the builder is bad. All of them mean you should ask harder questions before you sign.
What this looks like for Guardian
We run cost-plus on most custom builds. Curtis or Brian is on every job. There’s no project-manager layer between you and ownership. The build schedule lives in Buildertrend and is visible to you from day one. Change orders are itemized; you see the sub invoice underneath. Every Guardian client gets three reference numbers if they ask.