[Jedi Ninja]

Things change so much with individual builders from year to year, I really don't think you can rely on the reputation of a builder from a couple of years ago or even from last year. (And as mentioned by EB, a lot of builders are currently putting cost pressure on suppliers which may result in corner cutting down the supply chain.) Also, I don't think you can rely on anecdotes from just one or two people as every builder has its screw ups and its victories. And also, there is always a bit of stress involved in building a home, and different peoples perceptions and ability to cope with this kind of stress varies widely.

What I would suggest, however, is that you make sure that you have the right to visit the site regularly (a lot of buliders don't allow this any longer) and maybe even the right to bring your own inspector in at various stages of the project. And more importantly, read your contract documents and specifications very carefully so you understand what your are getting. Minimum building code often falls far below what people expect.