What is RateYourBuilder.com?
RateYourBuilder is a free service that provides consumer ratings of home builders and communities as well as valuable advice, builder company profiles, and up-to-date news helpful to new home buyers and owners. The web site is dedicated to the premise that by providing the on-line mechanism to unite the opinions of new home buyers and owners, home buyers will be stronger in their fight to fulfill their dreams.

Is it free?
Yes! It is absolutely free to provide your rating and to view the ratings on all of the home builders and new home communities listed on the site.

How do you know the ratings are relevant?
Our surveys have been designed by experts in market research and specialists in applying statistical techniques to customer satisfaction and market segmentation studies. The ratings displayed on the site are collected from dynamic ad hoc ratings provided by registered users as well as from periodic formal studies conducted with relevant samples of the target population.

What numerical range do these score represent?
The scores show a number between 0-10, with 0 being the lowest rating and 10 being the highest rating. “NR” signifies that an answer was not provided for questions contributing to that score. We exclude “NR” responses from reporting of results.

How is the “Overall” score calculated?
The “Overall” score is the average score of two questions asked the end of the rating survey.
For buyers/owners:

• “Taking everything into account, how satisfied are you with your builder?”
• “How likely are you to recommend your builder to friends, family or associates in the next 12 months?”

• “How likely are you to recommend this builder to friends, family or associates in the next 12 months?”
• “How likely are you to buy a new home at the community in the future?”

These questions represent the key outcomes of an experience or relationship. They have been proven statistically to be the best indicators of how consumers really feel.

Please note, for ratings completed prior to 1/20/2007, all ratings of a builder were averaged into the Overall rating.

Why do some ratings have "Not Rated" for Service, Home and Community?
With the RateYourBuilder.com site redesign, we also revamped the rating system to provide insights on more areas of the homebuilding and buying experience. However, any ratings posted before 1/20/2007 do not have specific results for Service, Home or Community and are listed as "Not Rated."

All of the previous ratings of a builder are combined into the Overall rating. Therefore, please be aware that any ratings prior to 1/20/2007 do not contribute to the National and, where applicable, local MSA ratings for Service, Home and Community.

Do I have to register?
You do not have to register to view ratings or access our news and advice content. However, registration is required to give complete any ratings or to post comments. We require registration in order to ensure the validity of the ratings and comments provided. Registration is easy, as it simply requires having a valid email address.

What if my builder or community is not listed?
Registered members who are logged in can add additional builders and communities. After logging in, just navigate to the list of builders or communities in your market. If your builder or community is not listed, scroll to the bottom of the page and use "Add a Builder/Community" to add your builder or community. We review all additions to ensure spelling and to tie to official company records provided by Hoover’s.

What can I say about my homebuilder?
Our mission with RateYourBuilder is to shine a bright light on the new home business, where consumers are often ill-informed of their choices. In order to accomplish this, we need honest and accurate feedback on builders and their communities. We ask that members observe the following simple guidelines when leaving comments about communities and homebuilders:

• Please be objective in describing your experience.
• Describe only your own experience with the builder and not information from your neighbors or any other third party.
• Please do not post personal information about the builder's employees.
• Refrain from name calling or other personal attacks.

RateYourBuilder reserves the right to modify or remove any comment or posting considered offensive, abusive, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise unacceptable or unlawful.

Your question not answered here?
You can submit additional questions through Contact Us.