References are fine, but they’re just one tiny piece of the puzzle.
Couldn’t agree more with that. Here’s how I see it:
- References can show consistency, but they’re rarely the full story.
- I’ve had clients who only cared about seeing a finished house—never asked for references at all.
- Sometimes, the best insight comes from talking to the trades on site or even the neighbors.
Curious—has anyone ever actually gotten a bad reference when they asked? Or is it always just the highlight reel?
ARE BUILDER REFERENCES REALLY THAT HELPFUL OR JUST FLUFF?
Funny thing—when I was hunting for a builder, every reference I got sounded like the builder had walked on water and finished ahead of schedule (which, let’s be real, never happens). I even called one guy’s reference and she gushed for ten minutes before admitting she was his cousin. Not exactly unbiased.
I’ve found you get a lot more truth from chatting with the folks actually swinging hammers on site. One time, a drywall guy clued me in that the GC was juggling way too many jobs and sometimes “forgot” to order materials. That never came up in the official references, of course.
References are like those Instagram highlight reels—nice to look at, but you’re not seeing the mess behind the scenes. I still ask for them, but I trust my gut more after walking a job site and talking to whoever’s around.
Honestly, references always feel a bit like a job interview where everyone’s on their best behavior. I’d rather see a builder’s work in person and talk to subs or neighbors nearby. You get way more real info from the folks actually doing the work. References aren’t useless, but they’re definitely not the whole story.
ARE BUILDER REFERENCES REALLY THAT HELPFUL OR JUST FLUFF?
References aren’t useless, but they’re definitely not the whole story.
Couldn’t agree more with this. I’ve been through two major renos and both times, the references sounded like rehearsed commercials. One guy even handed me a list where every “reference” was a family member—no joke. What actually made the difference was driving by a couple of their job sites and chatting with whoever was around. The drywall sub on one site told me straight up which parts of the project got rushed and why. That’s the kind of detail you’ll never get from a reference list.
I do think references have their place—if someone can’t provide any, that’s a red flag. But if you want to know how they handle delays, change orders, or mistakes, you need to see their work and talk to people who aren’t handpicked. It’s like reading Amazon reviews versus actually trying the product yourself... you need both, but one’s definitely more telling than the other.
What actually made the difference was driving by a couple of their job sites and chatting with whoever was around.
That’s spot on. I’ve found the same—references are just one piece of the puzzle, and honestly, they’re usually the most polished part. Seeing real work in progress tells you way more about how a builder operates day-to-day. I’d add that if a builder gets cagey about you visiting a site, that’s a red flag too. You’re doing it right by digging deeper than the reference sheet.
