ARE BUILDER REFERENCES REALLY THAT HELPFUL OR JUST FLUFF?
Love that you went beyond the standard questions—those “awkward” ones are where the real info comes out. I always tell folks, don’t be shy about digging deep. You’re not just buying a product, you’re trusting someone with your future home. It’s true, references aren’t perfect, but if you ask the right things, you’ll get honest stories (good and bad). Surprises after move-in? Happens to everyone, but knowing about them ahead of time makes a world of difference. Your approach is spot-on—keep trusting your gut and asking what matters to you.
ARE BUILDER REFERENCES REALLY THAT HELPFUL OR JUST FLUFF?
I used to think references were just a box to check, but I learned the hard way that asking the “awkward” stuff actually matters. When we built, I called a couple of past clients and one casually mentioned a leak that took months to fix. Not a dealbreaker, but it made me push harder on warranty terms. References aren’t perfect, but they’re not useless either—depends how you use them.
ARE BUILDER REFERENCES REALLY THAT HELPFUL OR JUST FLUFF?
References aren’t perfect, but they’re not useless either—depends how you use them.
That’s pretty much my take too. I’ve seen references get glossed over, but when you dig a little deeper, you can find out a lot—good and bad. Sometimes I’ll ask about stuff like communication style or how they handled delays, and you’d be surprised what comes up. The technical issues (like your leak example) are important, but I’m also curious about how responsive the builder was when things went sideways.
One thing I wonder: has anyone ever had a builder give them a “bad” reference on purpose? Like, someone who’s honest about the hiccups but still recommends them? I’ve had a couple of clients who were super candid with me about what went wrong, but they still said they’d hire the builder again. Makes me think maybe the real value is in hearing how problems got solved, not just whether there were problems at all. Anyone else run into that?
ARE BUILDER REFERENCES REALLY THAT HELPFUL OR JUST FLUFF?
That’s a good point about the value being in how problems are handled, not just whether they happened. I’ve definitely had situations where a client gave a reference that was brutally honest—mentioned delays, miscommunications, even a budget hiccup—but still said they’d use the builder again because the end result was solid and the builder owned their mistakes. Honestly, I find those kinds of references more useful than the ones that just say “everything was perfect.”
I’m curious, though: do people actually ask for references from projects that didn’t go smoothly? Or is it always the “greatest hits” list? I’ve sometimes wondered if we’d get a more balanced picture by specifically requesting to talk to someone where things got off track. Has anyone tried that approach, or do most builders just stick to their best-case clients?
ARE BUILDER REFERENCES REALLY THAT HELPFUL OR JUST FLUFF?
I’ve actually asked for references from jobs that had issues, and you’d be surprised—some builders are willing to connect you with those clients if you push a bit. It’s way more telling than the “everything was perfect” crowd. But here’s the thing: how many folks actually dig into *how* the builder handled warranty work or callbacks after the job wrapped? That’s where you really see their true colors, in my experience.
