In reality, it isn’t easy to find a qualified home improvement contactor. Just about anybody could try to sell us something that sounds really great. There could be many home improvement contractors in our area, from beginners to highly qualified ones. However, we may make mistake that can prove to be costly when choosing a home improvement contractor.
1. We don’t ask for estimates:
We shouldn’t choose a contractor who refuses to provide us with free estimate. It is clear that we will spend some amount of money when we pick a company. We should use our intuition to know whether the company provides an honest estimate. However, it is important to know the different between a bid and an estimate. Bid is actually a legally-binding statement, while estimates are not.
We should also be aware of unscrupulous contractors that pitch very low estimate to attract our interest. In the end, they’ll compensate by hitting us with unexpected fees. Therefore, we should make sure that we get realistic, detailed prices to increase the odds that we are getting honest estimates. Bids should be based on detailed estimates that are based on local market prices.
2. We don’t ask for customer guarantee:
It is important to ask for customer guarantee when we are hiring a home improvement guarantee. As an example, the contractor should be able to respond immediately after we report some problems. We should also get a guarantee of what quality and type of materials we should choose. These details should be mentioned during the initial meeting and written on all contracts, whenever possible. We shouldn’t trust them if the answers are deceptive or vague.
3. We don’t get realistic schedules:
Home improvement tasks will require more than a few days to complete. It can be completed in several days or a few months. Schedule is essential, especially if the home improvement project affects us very directly. As an example, we may need to stay at other place when the roof of our house is replaced. We should make sure that the contractor is willing to work with a specified schedule.
4. We don’t make sure that the contracted is insured:
A home improvement project isn’t without mishaps. Mistakes can be quite minor and can be addressed very quickly. However, bad things could happen. It is a quite common to hear people fall off when they fix the roof, breaking their arms. After we take the worker to the nearest ER, we should be certain who will pay for the bill. A good contractor fully insures workers and clients won’t be held liable for any kind of accident. If we don’t make sure that all liability is spelled out clearly in the contract, it is possible that the project will become very expensive.
5. We don’t know whether the contractor is skilled and experienced enough for the task:
This should be a quite easy thing to do. We examine the contractor’s past projects to know whether they are qualified enough to complete tasks that we give them.
