7 Tips for Hiring a Contractor for your Home Renovation
Here are some tips and advice for hiring a contractor, handyman, or professional for your next home remodel. We have renovated three different homes over the past 8 years and have learned alot when it comes to hiring help during our renovations.
Ask friends, family, and coworkers for referrals to companies and contractors that they have personally used and would recommend. If that doesn’t work, try posting in a local Facebook group asking for recommendations or asking in the Nextdoor app.
Once you have identified a couple companies or contractors, try looking for testimonials or reviews of their business online. Do they have recent positive or negative reviews? Do a Google search and see if Google has any reviews. Also try looking on sites like Better Business Bureau, Angie’s List, and Yelp.
Make sure you get a quote before you agree to any work. I recommend getting quotes from 3 companies or contractors if possible. If the quotes are significantly different, ask questions about their pricing to see if there is a reason their price may be higher or lower. Cheaper is not always better.
Ask for their timeframes for work and completion. Are there any supply chain issues or parts on backorder that will effect the completion of the work? Are they booked out for weeks? Getting an accurate timeframe for work and completion will help keep you on track with your renovation and help you plan the next steps of your project.
Once you have picked the company or professional you want to work with, make sure you get a contract between you that spells out exactly what work will be done, the timeframe for the work and completion, and pricing for the job and/or materials.
Get all changes in writing. It is very common for changes to happen in the middle of the work. Maybe a product gets discontinued, you want to change something, or timeframes move. Just make sure that you have the changes in writing between you and the company either on the original contract or in emails between you.
Never pay in full upfront before work begins or pay in all cash. You should never be asked to pay for a job in full up front. It is common to be asked for a deposit or 50% of the total job upfront and then the remainder of the balance once the work is complete. In addition, I do not recommend paying in cash. I know that a lot of contractors will offer a discount if you pay them in cash. If this is the case, ask them to have a letterhead or detailed receipt available for both of you to sign when the cash is handed over.
I hope these tips will help you planning and hiring for your next home renovation project!
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