How do I select a custom home builder?   On September 1,  2009, The State of Texas  abolished "sunsetted"  the Texas Residential Construction Commission (Title 16, Texas Property Code 401.006) ending the registration requirements for residential home builders and remodelers.  The commission will no longer accept complaints about builders and remodelers nor will they accept requests for state inspections on residential construction projects and new homes contracts executed after that date.  This means that home builders & remodelers are generally unregulated and home owners must now seek remedies provided under normal state & federal consumer protection laws.  Therefore, when selecting a custom home builder for your new home, it's even more critical to do your due diligence.  You need to know your prospective builder and that you are getting quality construction.  Following are things to consider:

1.      Will the builder be around in the future to be accountable?

2.      Is the builder able to develop and customize your plan to best serve your needs?

3.      Can the builder handle your project in your time frame?

4.      Does the builder work in the price/quality range you are comfortable with?

5.      Is the builder keeping up with new products and technology that are currently on the market? 

Look at some recent houses that the builder has built.  Talk to one or more people that own a house by this builder for a year or more to see if there have been any issues and how they were handled.  Ask the owners how they would rate their overall experience with the builder.  Were all the details finished in a timely manner?  Did the builder take care of all problems that came up and more importantly, would they hire him again.  Finally, request written warranties and performance standards that are at least as strict as the statutory warranties and commission-adopted performance standards that were in effect prior to the Code being sunsetted.