You will interview builders who all have handsome portfolios and firm handshakes. The portfolios tell you what they've built; they tell you almost nothing about what it was like to be the client. Here is how to find that out — a checklist we hand to people even when we suspect they'll use it against us.
Start with how they talk about money
Ask early: 'What do homes like mine actually cost per square foot, and what did your last three run against their contracts?' A trustworthy builder answers in real numbers, unprompted caveats included. Evasion at the interview stage does not improve after signing — it compounds.
Then ask to see a sample budget and allowance schedule from a finished project, names redacted. You're not checking the prices; you're checking the legibility. A budget you can't read is a budget you can't hold anyone to.
Compare bids like an estimator
If you're taking multiple prices, normalize before you compare: identical drawings to every bidder, allowances set to the same real numbers, exclusions listed side by side. Most 'cheap' bids are simply incomplete bids — the money returns later wearing a change-order costume.
The cheapest bid is frequently the most expensive house. Not because low bidders are villains, but because a number too low to build the drawings must be corrected mid-build, when you have no leverage and the trades have no patience.
Six questions worth asking every builder
Ask these verbatim and take notes:
- Who runs my site, and how many projects do they run at once?
- You want a name, and a number smaller than three.
- What was your contract-to-final spread on the last five projects?
- Under five percent is craft. 'It varies' is a forecast.
- How are change orders handled?
- The only good answer: priced, written and signed before the work proceeds.
- When did you last deliver bad news early, and how?
- Everyone has bad news stories. You're listening for who told the client first.
- May I speak to a client from mid-build — not a finished, happy one?
- Mid-build clients tell the truth. So do clients from five years ago.
- May I speak to one of your subcontractors?
- Trades know who pays on time, plans ahead, and runs a decent site. They will tell you.
The green flags
A paid, defined preconstruction phase instead of a free guess. An estimator involved during design, not after it. Allowances tied to your actual selections. A weekly owner meeting on the calendar before you've signed anything. Warranty visits that are scheduled, not offered. And a builder who has, at least once in the interview, told you something you didn't want to hear.
Then do all of it to us. Ask for our spread, our mid-build references, our subcontractors. Choosing a builder is a two-year relationship entered on a handshake and a spreadsheet — you're entitled to inspect both.