On Aug 15, 1:30*pm, wrote:
We're going to look at a house that was built in 2007 and never been
occupied. *I've Googled the builder, but haven't found much.

Is there any way to determine the quality of the work and materials,
as a layperson?

Simply put, no. For emphasis, hell no. A lot of sloppy workmanship
will be obvious to even Aunt Minnie, but the important details are
best judged by experienced people. If you are going to spend north of
150,000 large on a house, wouldn't it be simple common sense to talk
to some folks in an architectural/engineering firm about buying a
day's time of one of their experts to assess the place for problems?
Perhaps you could contact a retired city building inspector for
similar help. Whatever, unoccupied houses tend to have far more
problems than those that are promptly sold and occupied, so be
careful.

Joe