Hi,

Do anybody know how to find whether a home builder(in Sydney) is good or bad ? I googled to find whether any ranking is there, but couldn't find it. Because i heard there are doggy builders who use bad fitting etc for the homes.

Word of mouth and personal recommendations.... ?

What are you having done?

Put it about your mates and see what comes back....

Recommendations are usually best, but you could try searching for "reputable builders Sydney".

Which returned this for me.

http://www.building-contractor.com.a...FYhfpQodoTIAJA

Whoever you find, it would be good to check them out first etc...

Good luck.

http://hia.com.au/ is a general website for useful info.

All builders are licensed so you can check with the licensing authority to see if they have a good record, or otherwise.

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Ab...nce_check.html

Also take every opportunity to visit display homes - you'll get an idea of the styles of building. Always ask what the cost of the display home is 'as it is', ie including all the non-standard extras they used. One of the biggest differences is 'inclusions' in the basic price.

Have them build whatever you're getting built. If it falls down quicker than it should, or is otherwise unsafe, then you can probably determine they're not a good builder.

The HIA is an organisation that represents builders, ie a lobby group, or 'union'-type of organisation. There's no way you would get any accurate information from them about whether a builder is good or not - are they going to criticise their paid-up members that they represent?

Just because a builder is a member of HIA or MBA (Master Builders Association), just not mean that they are good, or a master builder. Each year the HIA and MBA award prizes to their members - are customers included in any voting?

Just because a builder has a building licence, it doesn't mean that he/she is a good builder, or that they have happy customers. Unhappy customers might not have registered a complaint, or perhaps not all the complaints have been listed on the online website http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Te..._disputes.html. What qualifications or experience does someone actually need to get a building licence?

Also be aware that even minor changes, such as moving a wall slightly, can result in huge price increases. You need to do a lot more homework and get lots of feedback from others who can give personal recommendations, or horror stories about who to avoid.

If you go to www.paintingaustralia.com.au - all the tradies listed there are recommended by Painting Australia (it's not just painters). The guy who runs this company is on 2GB every weekend answering DIY questions.

"...as featured on Today Tonight" is never a good sign!

If you can get them to turn up this side of hell freezing over, and their cost isn't eye wateringly expensive; they are no good.

Quite so, but it's revealing just how many complaints are listed. It certainly helped us to eliminate a few builders right from the start.

Both times we have built here (WA years ago and QLD 7 years ago) we chose small to medium outfits. Just chatting to the salespeople at the display houses can be quite revealing. Go on a slow day and talk about the other companies - sometimes you get a common theme emerging.

The best is a recommendation I work in in construction and must admit I have been quite
Shocked at some of the standards here.From what I have seen just because they have a liecence will not mean you get a top job,had a run in with a bricklayer who held a bricklaying and builders liecence who did not know the building code requirments worst brickwork I have seen in last 20 years he could not understand when I pointed out to him the work was not to the building code why I was a being so fussy

Something else we did - if you see a new house you like the look of the try asking the owner who built it. A knock on the door or a note in the letter box with you phone number is all it takes. We found people were usually happy to talk, and we've had prospective customers knocking at our door.