{"id":10,"date":"2026-01-25T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/builder-vetting\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T09:00:00","slug":"builder-vetting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/builder-vetting\/","title":{"rendered":"The Builder Vetting Guide: How to Avoid a Construction Headache"},"content":{"rendered":"

Choosing a builder is arguably more important than choosing the house design itself. You’re entering a long-term relationship \u2014 one that involves a lot of money and potentially a lot of patience.<\/p>\n

With the construction industry facing supply chain issues and rising costs, Amber Finance views “due diligence” not just as a buzzword, but as a shield.<\/p>\n

1. Check the Vitals<\/h2>\n

In Australia, every builder must be registered. Amber Finance suggests checking their licence and, more importantly, their history of building insurance claims. If they’ve had more “incidents” than a clumsy waiter in a crystal shop, it is time to move on.<\/p>\n

2. The Fixed-Price Myth<\/h2>\n

While “fixed-price” contracts are the gold standard, the team at Amber Finance advises reading the fine print regarding Prime Cost (PC) Items<\/strong> and Provisional Sums (PS)<\/strong>. These are “allowances” for things like site works or tiles. If the builder underestimated the cost of digging through unexpected rock in the backyard, a “fixed price” can suddenly start moving.<\/p>\n

3. Review the Pipeline<\/h2>\n

Ask the builder how many homes they currently have under construction. A builder with 50 half-finished homes and three staff members is a red flag. The goal is to find a builder who is busy enough to be successful, but not so busy that the site supervisor is a ghost only heard about in legends.<\/p>\n

4. Communication is Key<\/h2>\n

If they take three weeks to return a call when they are trying to get<\/em> the business, imagine how long it will take when asking why the kitchen island is in the middle of the hallway. Trust your gut.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer:<\/strong> Construction and building contracts involve significant legal and financial risks. This blog provides general commentary and is not a substitute for legal advice. Contact us<\/a> so we can discuss your scenario in detail and assist with the financing of your new build.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Choosing a builder is arguably more important than choosing the house design itself. You’re entering a long-term relationship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amber-finance.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}