You've had several very good responses.

I'll only add something on my old "acid test" ...

Got a stud-finder and a tape measure? Measure the distance between
several wall-studs. 16" is standard for well-built homes. If you
measure, say, 24", you might wanna forget about the house muy pronto.
This assumes you're not shopping for a cheapo.

It's the first thing I'd check unless the fit/finish or structural
integrity, design, grade, etc was so bad that I'd reject at a glance.

P

On Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:30:48 GMT, 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?

"I Ain't Blind, I Just Don't Wanna See"
- the title of a tune by Little Joe Blue, maybe 1966