JD Power does an excellent job of sending surveys to home buyers asking them about their personal experience with the purchase and first year of ownership of a home. They then rank the builders by the customer feedback. You can check this out on
Customer Satisfaction - Consumer Ratings & Research | J.D. Power If your homebuilder is not on that list, you will have to do your own research and CHECK their references. If they don't have references, you should talk to some real estate agents who work in that area and see what their reputation is like with the people they do business with.