What surprised you, or what surprised you the most, about the homebuilding process and/or your interaction with your builder?

I was surprised with how little communication there is between the builder and the new home owner. I was naive in thinking that by paying a builder they would do the job correctly.

I was surprised by the customer service- or lack thereof. I actually believed the builder would care, but I was very wrong about this. I was also so surprised that Tarion is builder biased. I was hoping that at least they would show some fairness but that was not the case. The homeowner has to follow all the rules, the builder can break all the rules.

I was surprised to find out that Tarion is a builders for builders organization/insurance company.
See who is on the board of directors listed on Tarion's web site. None are from a consumer group and most of them are builders. Tarion does everything to accommodate the builder and extend his deadlines. When I point out in writing that the builder is in violation of a rule in one of the builder bulletins, the Tarion employee does not answer my questions and points me to a document that was authored seven months after I took possession of my house. "Honesty, integrity and respect for personal dignity are fundamental to everything we do"........... horse hockey.

My surprise in buying a newly built home was the lack of customer service on the part of the builder. I kept hearing excuses, yet I was able to get on the phone and find contractors willing to complete the work. The builder's only concern was how little can I pay someone to do the job and not how good the quality would be. Finding a builder with a successful track record and list of recent references is valuable.