We built a house and we had a FANTASTIC experience!!

My suggestion would be to drive around the area and look at homes that are being built - more often than not there will be a builders sign out the front. We used a local builder and found that we were more of a priority for him - the bigger companies often have LOTS of houses on the books and getting an answer for something can take days. We also found that most larger companies charged a premium for the "brand".

My advice - GO LOCAL!!! You will save heaps and get a much more personalised service.

Hope that helps!