Licences and insurance are only the starting point. Here's what actually separates a builder worth signing with from one that isn't.
Picking a builder is one of the highest-stakes decisions in the entire process — more than the floor plan, more than the finishes, because the builder is who turns every other decision into a physical, permanent result. Most people compare quotes. Far fewer compare the things that actually predict how the project will go.
Start with licensing and insurance, but don’t stop there
A current builder’s licence and public liability insurance are non-negotiable, but they’re table stakes, not a differentiator — every legitimate builder has them. What they don’t tell you is how a builder actually runs a site.
Ask how variations are handled before you sign
The single biggest source of cost blowouts and disputes on residential builds is undocumented variations. Ask directly: how are changes priced, who approves them, and how are they communicated? A builder who can answer this clearly, before you’ve asked about anything else, is telling you something important about how the whole project will run.
Questions worth asking any builder
- How many projects are you running at once, and who is my actual point of contact?
- What happens if a trade is delayed — how is that communicated to me?
- Can I see a fixed-price contract example before I sign anything?
- What’s included in your warranty, and for how long?
Talk to a past client, not just a reference list
Every builder can supply glowing references. Ask instead for a client from a project completed six to twelve months ago — long enough that any defects would have shown up, and long enough that the initial excitement has worn off and you’ll get an honest answer.
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