Questions to ask builder

Learn plenty before you buy especially on the up coming steps,spend lots of time reading up on others experiences especially the bad ones in which it will illustrate what not to do, information and knowledge is your best friend,if your extremely inexperienced then make sure you get a knowledgeable highly qualified building inspector who does pre contract inspections also as mistakes, unfair clauses etc are very common ,don't be fooled into a false sence if security with the line of,it's a standard HIA/MBA contract,their heavily in favour of the builder,by getting a building inspector you put the builder on notice that you have knowledge on your side,it's false economy to not get one especially with inexperienced clients,but learn lots and don't stop as builders love it when you know almost nothing,good luck.

Great information,too often customers only go to display homes ,then pick a builder,if this is only what you have done,then you have almost done nothing as a display is their very best work with hand picked trades,your not going to get this although your entitled to this standard when a home is sold based on a display,even when you choose a builder ,check 3 of their recent local builds and ask the owners questions ,as this is a far better representation of what you can expect.

Try and get your head around how they actually build a house and do some research on what way is best. Here in Perth construction of a house differs from the rest of Australia. There are slight differences in how they complete the build. I worked out what I wanted and gave them all a list. Also try to get as much specified into the price before the contracts are signed that way you will save yourself a lot of money on upgrades at pre start. Things like, type of basins and sinks you want, back to wall toilets, tiling to full height, type of tiles, insulation levels, door types and model, bench tops, cupboards, painting, the list goes on and on. If you dont they will quote you on the base stuff knowing you will upgrade at pre start and charge you way more than the products actually cost.
For instance our build list as an example. 2 x gas instantanous hot water systems, coroma XX basins, back to wall toilets, frameless glass shower screens, cavity insulation to walls, full anticon to roof, corinthian type xx 28 course doors to entire house, Bosch xxx induction cook top, 3 phase power, 31 coarse brick height to entire house including garage, etc, etc, etc.
The more you can specify the better.

A mandatory request to the builders’ sales consultant should be to provide you with the contact details of 5 customers who have built with them recently. Ideally where there have been issues with the build that have been satisfactorily resolved. No builder or build is perfect therefore there will always be issues. If a builder cannot or won’t provide this information it’s a bad sign. Politely thank them for their time and find a more transparent builder with understanding of and pride in their work that will.

Tell them that you will be engaging your own private consultant to conduct inspection at various stages on the build , and see how they react.