Finding a Home Improvement Contractor

If you’re selling your house and have no time, tools, or experience to do a home repair or renovation project by yourself, you need to hire a professional. However, not just anyone will do. In most states, homeowner complaints against contractors are some of the most common – if not the most common – types of consumer complaints at the state attorney general’s office.

But it’s true as well that there are a lot of skilled and reliable contractors these days.

Finding a Contractor

There are three key ways to locate a contractor for your planned home improvement or repair project:

Personal Referrals

You should talk to family, friends, and colleagues about good contractors. It’s a good way to obtain personal testimonials from people you trust. Keep an eye out for neighbors projects as well that seem to be doing well.

Phone Books/Directories

You can check out a local directory to find up a contractor. Both yellow pages and white pages have everything, from basic listings with the company names and phone numbers, to full-page ads, which indicate the companies’ respective details.

Online Referrals

To get online referrerals, check with trade organizations like the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, which issues certifications to contractors. There are also free contractor referral services or professional directories in which you can search for the pro you need. Certainly, those consumer watchdog websites that publish contractor reviews and ratings can be incredibly helpful too.

Picking a Right Contractor

Regardless of how you find prospects, make it a point to get a number of bids from various companies, and that you can compare them apples to apples. Know the kind of materials you have to use even if you have to be asking lots of questions. Any contractor who doesn’t take the time to address your questions should be crossed off your list.

And now in terms of money, never go with a contractor for cost reasons exclusively. The lowest bidder can sometimes be a good choice, but that old adage, “you get what you pay for,” sure applies to the home improvement industry. High-quality contractors are skilled and experienced, have equally skilled and experienced subs, and pay insurance. Of course, there are merely examples of expenses that are incurred in running a well-reputed contractor business.

Lastly, choose a contractor you are comfortable working with. You could be on the phone with this contractor many times a day. You will be talking about money, your budget and what exactly you’d like to do with it. You could have disagreements over details, and you should resolve them. A contractor with poor communication skills or someone who just rubs you the wrong way is not the right one for you, even if he was perfect for your neighbor.

Quotes: index