Reach out to the resources provided and reputable community leaders.

The brands I've been bid on have been:Eco WindowsCGI Sparta SeriesLawson IndustriesESWindowsAssuraAssura is from home depot, main advantage i've found is that they have a quick lead time of 4 weeks, compared to everyone else saying 6-8 weeks.CGI I heard its a reputable brand with a good warranty Lawson, cheapest quote but Im' hearing has a huge lead time now and they have been messing up peoples orders with sizes or specificationsES Windows, comes from Colombia and I heard spare parts, replacements and customer service is terribleEco, I haven't really heard much about but price seems close to what I'm being quoted for CGI Spartas Anybody on here with more experience that can help me narrow it down? 

Does anyone have suggestions for a solid reputable company that conducts home inspections in SD county?

So knowing scope would help narrow down on risk mitigation tactics.I guess at the end of the day, it all comes down to knowing what is needed, order of operations, and having as close to true quotes from reputable contractors in hand.Beyond that, really knowing all that is needed and having those extremely detailed scope of works for each trade before you get your bids.  

You may not even care about that but if it gets out that you are this way, your reputation will be destroyed and it will be really hard to rebuild. 

I like quickbooks because it doesn't require you to pay a monthly subscription and it's got a good reputation.  

But if the manager is at least good enough that they care about their long-term reputation (and also trying to get you to be an investor in future deals)...then this might help.If they are a bad one (or a good one and unable to change), then this is unlikely to make any difference.Remotely you can also do things like doing Google maps drive-bys, etc.

It’s not a profit center for them and they have a reputation to maintain.

Reputation is important (not only in terms of good build quality, because the quality of the houses builders built is heavily depend on the quality of the superintendent they had overseeing the project and the quality of subcontractors they used).

So, it’s important to do your research—check the developer’s reputation, consider proximity to jobs and schools, and look into any tax incentives.