Feel Comfortable Working With Your Contractor
Almost every one that I have ever talked to, has at least
one story of a friend or relative with a contractor horror story.
Everyone's heard the story about the contractor who was paid up front
for half the job and never came back to do any work. What about the
contractor who told you, that he was licensed and insured and you let
him start the job, only to find out he had three judgments against him
from previous homeowners about poor workmanship.
Construction Referrals
Referrals in any business, seem to be the best way to find a good
contractor. I however, have found this to be more than a problem, the
more time I spend working as a contractor. Sometimes you can find a good
contractor through a referral and everything will work out great. The
number one pitfall for dealing with bad contractors is the referral
process, where someone, usually a close friend of years, recommends the
best contractor to you with an official five-star rating.
Please don't do so and that these contractors are on the level and make
sure you ask them plenty of questions about the project, and make sure
that you're comfortable with the answers. Just because, someone is
referred to you, does not make them qualified to work on your home or
other construction projects.
Do You Feel Comfortable Working with the Contractor
Most of us get a pretty good feeling about people when we meet them.
Working with some pretty shady characters over the years, I've got a
pretty good feel for anyone who is lying to me or doesn't really know
what they're doing. As a homeowner, you might not have this experience.
But listen to your intuition and if these people can't answer your
questions honestly or you don't feel like they know what they're doing,
try to find another contractor.
The most important thing when working with anyone, is to make sure that
you're comfortable working with them. You wouldn't hire or someone at
your place of business or work for someone whom you really didn't feel
comfortable working for, would you. Don't hire a contractor you're not
comfortable with, no matter how many referrals, references,
qualifications they have.