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Right Time To Hire A Professional Home Contractor

Author By: Staff Writer | Updated Date: 06-12-2023

tips to hire a professional home contractorWhile planning a home renovation project, one of the biggest choices you will have to make is between hiring a professional home contractor or going for the DIY way.

The biggest benefit of the do-it-yourself technique is that it's pocket friendly. There are many projects which you can execute just by watching the appropriate videos on YouTube. However, not all home improvement projects are feasible for a nonprofessional.

Overall, your expertise, budget, and the level of significance of the project along with the increasing value of your home are a few factors to consider if you need to decide on employing a professional home contractor.

Benefits of hiring professionals

There is no better option for a homeowner to invest in than hiring an experienced contractor who can manage every aspect of renovating your house from beginning to end. If you choose to collaborate with professionals, you should be extra careful and ensure to avoid hefty mistakes that would cost you both time and money.

  • By collaborating with a professional team, you can ensure the work is going as per the plan, eliminating any chance of surprises coming your way.

  • A general contractor will have experience in all aspects of home renovation projects.

  • They will have expertise in the best practices to use and the local building codes.

  • By hiring a contractor, you can ensure your peace of mind, mostly in the implementation phase of your project.

  • A professional home contractor will assist you in planning, designing, buying materials, budgeting, and recruiting subcontractors who have expertise in electrical work and plumbing.

Drawbacks of hiring contractors

  • High costs: Be ready to pay a high price if you are planning to hire professionals for your home improvement project.

  • Difficulty in getting a dependable contractor: You may find numerous contractors in the market; however, it isn’t advisable to blindly trust them.

  • High Risks: If a worksite accident or theft happens, you will be left with no option other than to pay the pending amount as mentioned in the contract.

Look for recommendations

  • Take recommendations from your family members and friends.

  • Next, search through the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and find out the enlisted members in your locality.

  • Another promising idea is to communicate with the building inspector who can give you information about contractors who can regularly fulfill your code requirements.

  • You can also visit the local lumberyard that gets the chance to meet with contractors daily. They will typically have a good idea about which contractors purchase quality materials and pay their bills on time.

Conduct phone interviews

After you have shortlisted some general contractors, we recommend you schedule a quick call with each of them and ask the necessary questions.

  • Are they comfortable with the type and size of the project you are offering them?

  • Can they offer you financial references from banks or suppliers?

  • Can they share a list of their clients in the past?

  • Would there be any other projects that they would be doing at around the same time?

  • For how long have they collaborated with their subcontractors?

Once you find the answers to these questions, you will be able to understand the contractor’s reliability, availability, and time they can invest in your project.

Schedule a face-to-face meeting

  • Depending on your phone interviews, select three to four contractors as per your budget and their qualities.

  • A general contractor needs to answer all your questions in a way that satisfies your requirements.

  • Make sure both of you can communicate well with each other for several hours at a stretch. Also, you need to see that you aren’t fooled by the pleasant personality of a contractor who may not provide you with what you need.

  • You can also check with the consumer protection agency of your state or with your local Better Business Bureau before you hire a professional. By doing this, you can ensure that your selected contractors don’t have a record of disputes with their subcontractors or clients.

Examine the facts

After you have reduced your list, don’t forget to research your contractors:

  • Call their previous clients and get feedback on how their project was. Ask if they can show you the final product.

  • Don’t make the mistake of completely relying on the final product while making the decision.

  • Most importantly, you should visit a present work site and check how a contractor is working.

  • Examine how carefully and safely the contractor’s team is with the homeowner’s property.

Create plans and propose

By now you will have a list of prospective contractors who have a clean record and are responsible.

  • This will be the right time to think about and plan your home improvement project.

  • Any diligent home contractor will require you to provide them with a complete blueprint along with your expectations from the project and the budget.

  • You can ask the shortlisted contractors to break the project cost into labor cost, material cost, profit margin, and other miscellaneous expenses. This will help you compare the budget of various contractors appropriately.

Establish your payment schedule

Plan your payment schedule in advance to avoid conflicts at a later stage:

  • A payment schedule will help you understand the work ethic and financial status of the contractors.

  • If your contractor demands you to pay half the project cost upfront, either they are facing financial issues or simply wish to have some sort of insurance.

  • On average for a big project, you can start by paying 10 percent while signing the contract. Also, you can make three payments of around 25 percent throughout the project. The last 15% you can pay after cross-checking that all tasks have been done successfully.

Don’t allow the price to guide you

Apart from technical skills, you must ensure that you are comfortable working with a professional home contractor. We suggest you invest more only when you can hire someone you can communicate with well and work comfortably with.

Create an agreement

Make sure you create an agreement that includes all the aspects of your home renovation project, including the following:

  • Payment plan

  • Liability insurance proof

  • Salary of the employees

  • Starting and closing date of the project

  • Materials and produced used in the project

  • Lien releases from all suppliers and subcontractors, which will protect you if the contractor doesn’t pay his bills.

Ready to hire?

With this guide, you will have access to all relevant information on the right way to hire, manage and collaborate with a contractor. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask them as this is their job and they will answer you well.

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