8 Things to Know Before Hiring a Contractor
Posted on Monday, August 6, 2018
Categories:
Hiring Home Improvement
Your home is
your most important financial investment. When it’s time to perform repairs,
add on, or remodel; you deserve to know that the people and businesses doing
the work can be trusted. There is perhaps little else that can throw a wrench
into your life’s progress, completely disrupt your home and family, and decimate
your finances like home improvement fraud. The good news is, it is easily
avoided by taking the time to follow these simple steps before hiring a home improvement
contractor.
Always Get Three Bids
Generally, consumers
make a big mistake on both ends of this spectrum: failing to get more than one
bid, or getting far too many bids. A tried and tested method is to solicit at least
three bids. Doing so gives you the idea of the general price range of the
project and also enables you to quickly identify those who may be way off of
the mark on either the high side or the low side.
Don’t ever
rely solely on price for a project. Use the price as one consideration in the
process. Ultimately, you need to select your contractor based on other factors
including presentation, communication, professionalism, flexibility, and their
willingness to provide credentials and references. You are going to be
interacting with this contractor and their crew a great deal over the course of
your project. Having a respectful, punctual, and clean contractor who communicates well is just as
important as the price that you pay — especially when they’re practically
living with you during a large-scale project.
The goal in taking the time to get three estimates is to end up with a high-quality project
completed in a substantial workmanlike manner at a fair price. That’s a return
well worth your time invested.
Price vs Value
One of American
business magnate, Warren Buffett's most famous quotes is, "Price is what you pay; value is what
you get." Don’t ever base the decision of awarding
a home improvement project to a contractor solely on price. The ultimate value
of the outcome of the project is what you will be living with (literally and
emotionally) for a very long time.
Perhaps prominent
social thinker and philanthropist, John Ruskin, put it best in the 1800’s:
“Quality
is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.”
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little.
When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too
little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.
"The common law of
business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be
done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the
risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something
better.”
Know the Quality of Materials Being Used
Ask your
potential contractor where they will be purchasing the materials. Check the
reputation of the supplier(s) and the brand of materials. Quality-conscious
contractors will not stake their reputation on the installation of inferior
products that are not backed by the manufacturer and by the supplier. These
products may cost a bit more but ultimately will deliver a higher-quality
result, and longer-lasting satisfaction. Visit the supplier showrooms – if possible – to view the materials on
display. Take the time to talk to an experienced sales person and learn about
the item(s).
Spend Local
Local,
independent suppliers and contractors alike, live and work in the same communities
as you. The money they earn is reinvested back into those communities, local
governments, parks, schools, and emergency services which benefits all
involved. Avoid large national contractor and supplier conglomerates who seldom have your best interests at heart, use workers from well outside of your region, can be very difficult
to deal with, often lack accountability, and do not reinvest in sustaining the
local economies.
Verify Licensing and
Insurance
In the state of Pennsylvania (and multiple other states) all
contractors must be licensed with the state Attorney General’s office. While having this
registration is not an endorsement as to the quality of workmanship, not having it is a high-flying red flag. If a contractor is not registered with the state, grab your wallet, walk away quickly!
To verify the registration of a home improvement
contractor in Pennsylvania, go to the Registered Contractors section of the Attorney
General’s website. All contractors must display their official
registration number on all contracts, estimates, proposals, and advertisements.
You should also check for documented complaints with the
Better Business Bureau.
Get References and
Call Them (customers and suppliers)
Always ask your contractor for references. This includes, of
course, references of recent customers for whom the contractor has
completed like projects. But also ask for references from the contractor’s
supplier(s) that they will be using for your project. Call them or stop in and have a
brief conversation to get a feel for each individual’s perception of the
contractor in general, as well as details of project flow, cleanliness, communication, and
punctuality.
The people who sweat the small details (i.e. how clean they
keep their trucks and tools, being punctual, leaving the jobsite clean at day’s
end, and how they and their crew present themselves) will most often care more about the
big details (like the outcome of your project).
Always have a
Contract.. and Read It
Nailing down a project’s specifics in a written contract
protects the homeowner and the contractor. It’s critical for you to have a
signed contract before any work begins. It’s also critical for you to read and
fully understand what’s in the contract prior to signing. It’s common for a
contractor to ask for one-third to one-half of the contract price in advance as
a deposit. Don’t ever pay the contract price in full until the work is
completed to specifications.
Know Your Rights
- A home improvement contractor must provide you
with a copy of the complete contract, free of charge.
- You have the right to rescind your home
improvement contract without penalty within three business days of the signing
date, except as provided under law for emergency situations.
- A home improvement contract is not enforceable
against a consumer if it does not include all of the information required by
law.
- A contractor may not demand or receive any
payment for a home improvement before the home improvement contract is signed.
[source: Attorney General of PA]
Tagged:contractor, home improvement, buy local, local economy, hiring, contracts