Your home is your haven and something you have worked very hard for. It is where you build your family and celebrate the milestones in your life. Owning a home is no doubt you have worked very hard to do and maintaining your home is something that goes hand in hand with being a homeowner.
Beyond ordinary maintenance, enhancing your living space with home improvement projects as your family grows, is something many homeowners do.
Home improvement projects are abundant, and they are easily one of the best ways to update your home and make it more functional for your needs. However, not all of us have the time or the skill to perform these projects ourselves. That is why we choose to hire a professional contactor.
Contractors vary in skill and qualifications. When you end up hiring a bad contractor, you run the risk of shoddy workmanship or worse, you may even end up with an unfinished home improvement project. Both scenarios mean that you’ve just thrown your hard-earned money down the drain.
So, what are the red flags that you be aware of when looking for a contractor for your next home improvement project?
Poor Reviews
The lack of reviews or worse, the presence of negative reviews should already be an indication that the particular contractor does not perform well. Background checks are also necessary when you want to make sure that your hard-earned money goes somewhere worthwhile.
References also work in the same way in that they provide you with a glimpse of a contractor’s work ethic and whether or not they truly deliver results.
No Proposal
A good contractor is going to be able to plan for the entire project, from start to finish. They’re going to be able to determine the time needed as well as the materials required to get the job done.
They should present you with a clear proposal for your to review. If your contractor asks for unlimited time as well as unlimited materials, then you’re just asking to get overcharged for the project. Walk away if this is the case.
Overpromising
If something sounds too good to be true, it isn’t. That old adage is almost always correct, and this situation is no exception. Before you sign a contract, you need to do a bit of research on how much the project is going to cost to complete.
This site should provide you with a comprehensive idea of the price of materials. Use this as a point of reference for when you want to see if a contractor is offering you a low price that’s too good to be true.
Lack of Construction Permits
When a contractor dismisses building permits as unnecessary expenses, you should already be raising an eyebrow. Permits are standard procedure, as well as the inspections that precede their release. You aren’t only risking your project getting shut down. You’re also risking your safety and that of the people around you.
Luckily, if a faulty construction should result in injury to you or anyone in your house, you do have legal remedies that should help you along the way.
This is a collaborative guest post, the words and views do not necessarily reflect those of Mommy Ramblings.
Great post thanks! As a contractor myself, I would add that while references are important they can be set-up or misleading at best by some unscrupulous contractors. If they are a reputable business – Google them- check out those ratings and reviews, and also ask for references from their own subcontractors. if they hesitate about that – Move on!
Thanks again
Kevin
This is some really good information about finding a good contractor. I like that you pointed out that you should look for a contractor who has the proper permits. That does seem like it would be a good sign that everything is done properly.