How to evaluate a custom home builder in Arizona
The questions to ask before you sign, and what a straight answer sounds like.
Most people interview two or three builders, look at photos, compare numbers, and pick one. The photos tell you what a builder can do on its best project. They do not tell you who will be on your site on a Tuesday in August. Here is the due diligence we would do if we were the ones hiring.
Nick covers the warning signs in the first video above, and what pushes a build over budget in the second. This is the written version, with the checks you can run yourself.
Start with the license
In Arizona, contractors are licensed by the Registrar of Contractors. You can look up any builder for free on the ROC contractor search by company name, person, or license number. Check three things: that the license is current and active, that the classification fits the work, and whether there are complaints on file.
For homes, the classification matters. The ROC lists residential classifications such as the B General Residential license, and dual licenses like the KB-2 that cover residential and small commercial work. The ROC explains each one on its license classifications page. Ask the builder which license they hold and confirm it yourself.
A licensed residential contractor also gives you access to the state's Residential Contractors' Recovery Fund if things go badly wrong. It has limits. Under A.R.S. 32-1132.01, the maximum award to one person is $30,000, and only for actual damages. On a custom home, that is a backstop, not a plan. It is one more reason to choose carefully up front.
Contracting without a license is a class 1 misdemeanor in Arizona under A.R.S. 32-1164, and ABC15 has reported on how little recourse homeowners have when an unlicensed contractor takes the money and leaves. On a project this size you will not usually meet an unlicensed builder, but you may meet unlicensed subs. Ask who holds the license for each trade.
Our license is AZ ROC #326032. Look it up. We would rather you check than take our word for it.
Who actually runs your project
This is the question that matters most and gets asked least. The person who sells you the job is often not the person who builds it. Ask for names.
- Who will run my job day to day, and how many other jobs will they be running at the same time?
- Who do I call when something goes wrong, and will that person have been on site that week?
- How many homes are you building right now, and how many do you take on in a year?
- If my project manager leaves halfway through, who takes over?
There is no single right answer to the volume question. But you should hear a number, and it should make sense next to the number of people who will be watching your house.
For what it is worth, here is our answer. A superintendent runs the day to day. Nick is on site multiple times a week regardless. Christina walks the jobs too, checking progress, quality, and coordination. We deliver a handful of homes a year so both owners can be on every one. You can read more on our about page.
Who the trades are
A builder is only as good as the plumber, framer, electrician, tile setter, and millwork shop who show up. Some builders put every scope out to bid and take the lowest number each time. That can look cheaper on paper. It also means a new crew on every job, learning the standard on your house.
- How do you choose trades: lowest bid, or long relationships?
- How long have you worked with the framer, plumber, and electrician who would be on my job?
- Who checks their work, and how often?
- When a trade makes a mistake, who pays to fix it?
We use trades we have worked with for years. They know the standard before they show up.
Is the owner on site
At some firms the owner sells the work and runs the business, and you rarely see them again after the contract. That can work. You should just know it going in.
- How often will the owner of the company personally walk my house?
- Will the owner be at the preconstruction meeting, the framing walk, and the final walkthrough?
- Can I call the owner directly?
How the number was built
The lowest bid is often the least complete one. Ask each builder to show you how they got to their number. Look at the allowances. A low allowance for tile, plumbing fixtures, or appliances makes the total look smaller and moves the real cost into change orders later. We cover this in what a custom home actually costs in Scottsdale.
- Is this priced from my drawings and selections, or from a square-foot average?
- What is in each allowance, and what does it actually buy?
- What is excluded?
- How are changes priced and approved?
Talk to past clients
Ask for references and actually call them. Ask what went wrong and how the builder handled it, not only whether they liked the house. Many high-end clients do not want their names online, so do not read too much into a builder with no public reviews. Do read into a builder who will not put you in touch with anyone. Our past clients are available as references personally, on request.
If you want to put these questions to us, start a conversation. We will answer every one of them.