Can you name ONE thing most people usually can’t Google when shopping for a new home builder that may gravely impact their wallets and their peace of mind?

What’s a good reputation-recording gauge for businesses these days? 

Are you thinking “Google,” or “the internet”? It wouldn’t surprise us.

Whether you’re buying a new car, TV, etc., thanks to online reviews, social media, and the ability to quickly poll your friends and family via text, these days you can usually gauge the reputation of a product/service provider fairly quickly.

One thing that makes shopping for a new home builder a lot more challenging than shopping for a new car is this: When building a home, there’s a possibility that the buyer may not get a functional product at the end of the process.

You see, even if you’re not gaga 🙃 over your new car, you can still use it. But that’s not always the case in the home building industry. Because some home builders go out of business for one reason or another, some buyers get stuck with unfinished builds. This, sadly, includes projects that literally exist only on paper — that is, projects for which a builder took a deposit but never started building.

Yet, you usually can’t Google how new home buyers are feeling about their experience DURING the building process. This is especially true if things are not going well with a build.

“How can that be?” you may be thinking. “Wouldn’t they want to tell others about that?”

When you’re not in the eye of the storm, you can objectively and reasonably look at things. But when you’re going through the thunderstorm of pain and anger, it’s much harder to do. From not being willing to accept reality, to hoping that by keeping quiet things will somehow get back on track, reasons vary as to why many stay quiet about their issues for way too long.

And while those reasons vary, they also tend to have one thing in common: the fact that publicly admitting that one has made the wrong choice with what is likely the biggest investment in one’s life can hurt even more than making the wrong choice.

The good news: New home buyers CAN DO A LOT TO AVOID THESE LESS OBVIOUS POTENTIAL PAINS when selecting a new home builder. Here are two practical ways to do just that:

a. They can ask a prospective builder to give them a tour of one of the homes they currently have under construction.
b. They can ask to speak/correspond with owners of the builder’s current builds.

A reputable builder with a healthy, well-run business would be happy to offer both of those options to potential buyers. 

But a BUILDER whose business may be UNDER FINANCIAL DURESS (or struggling with some other challenge) would likely react differently to such an ask. For builders with those kinds of issues, even a simple ask about the state of their business could trigger all kinds of rigmaroles that buyers can pick up on.

While we can’t speak for other home builders, we can tell you that WE’RE HAPPY TO OFFER our potential buyers both of those two options.

Since option a. is a bit less descriptive, below is a preview of things potential buyers can do during the above tour. In short, they can:

– See how our design and construction processes work; 

– Learn why and how we use materials and products that not only seem lovely, but are actually also lovely to live with; and, of course, 

– Get answers to any questions they may have about building a just-for-them home.

Over to you: We’re not sure if home building is on your mind, or the mind of someone you care about. But if it is, please know that no appointment is necessary to start imagining a brand new home with the Munro Homes crew, or to get answers to the questions you haven’t found answers for on the internet. 😊 💬

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