TIP #5 Check out the Builder

Bad news travels fast so a bad experiences with a builder are pretty easy to discover.

• Consider walking the community and asking prospective neighbors about their experience with the builder.
• Check public records online to determine if there have been or are lawsuits pending against the builder.
• Find out if the builder sells to investors.  Some builders require that the buyer occupy the property while others will sell multiple homes to investors at a lower margin.  Typically tenants do not maintain properties in the same way that homeowners do so knowing if your neighbors are likely to be owners or tenants may be important.