Tough to find the right builder in a new area. The only thing I would recommend is to put some time into exploring the area and looking for homes under construction or those that look pretty new and talking to the owners. Never settle for a builder and always talk to at least 5. If there are homes there, somebody built them. Where are they getting their supplies? You might be able to get a few recommendations from the suppliers, or even better, find out who to avoid. As a contractor that does a few sub job for other builders, I can tell you that when I talk to the other subs, it's usually about how bad some of the builders are and what they get away with in cutting corners or just allowing sloppy work. Remember that home owners usually need to be in the house a few years to start to find out if they have any issues other then what comes up during the build. Also remember that some complaints from the home owner are usually from not understanding the build process or not being realistic in their expectations. Probably the very worse recomendation you can get is from a family member. They are blind to why a contractor gets a bad reputation and doesn't have any work, all they know is that's a person they care about and they want him to be making money. Most of the jobs that I get to tear out another guys work is from a family member or they hired a good friends family member that needed the money.
Last, do not be in a rush to start. If you are going to live there for decades and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars creating your home, don't let a few months or another year force you to make a bad decision that you will regret the rest of your life.
Eddie
