A beautiful portfolio tells you a builder can produce good photos. It tells you very little about how they manage budgets, communicate during construction, or handle problems when they come up — which is what actually determines whether your experience is a good one.
Ask how they handle change orders. A builder who can clearly explain their change order process — how pricing is communicated, how approval works — is signaling a level of transparency that matters enormously once construction is underway. Vague answers here are a real warning sign.
Ask who will actually be on-site managing your project day to day, and how often you should expect updates. “We’ll keep you posted” is not an answer; a specific cadence (weekly site walks, a defined project manager, a clear communication channel) is.
Ask to speak with at least one past client whose project is more than a year old, not just a recently finished one. A homeowner a year or two past move-in can tell you how warranty issues were handled and whether the relationship held up after the final check was paid.
Finally, ask how they price — specifically whether you’ll see a true line-item budget or a lump-sum number with vague allowances. The builders worth hiring are usually comfortable showing their math; the ones who aren’t are worth a second look before you sign anything.