When hiring a contractor, a lot of people base their decision on price. Honestly, that is one of the worst decisions one can make. A contractor plays a major part in creating your dream home – a poor contractor equals a poorly built house and those flaws will stare you in the face every single day. It’s important to do your due diligence and take the proper steps when hiring a contractor. Here are some tips you should keep in mind when looking for one.
Check out a Contractor’s Past Work
Contractors receive proper training and certifications for the work they do; however, the field also requires a certain amount of artistic skill that cannot be taught in school or in a course. You want to know if your contractor has that artistic eye to be able to carry out your plan – the best way to do so is to check out their past work. Most home builders northern beaches will have pictures and videos of their past work and others may invite you to see houses they have worked on or are working on. If possible, always try to see a house a contractor has worked on to get a proper look into their work.
Get recommendations from friends and family
House renovation is not an uncommon practice and it’s very likely that you have a couple of family members or friends that have had their house renovated and have hired a contractor. Take some recommendations from these people – they’ll be able to give insight into what the contractor did right and what they did wrong as well as offer you some advice on how to go through the contractor process. You can also talk to building owners who will have used contractors several times and will have an idea of the best ones.
Ask the contractor what is included in his price
The last thing you want is to commit to a contractor, and then realize that the price didn’t include some of your requirements. Since you have already committed to them, you may find yourself needing to pay more money for these extras. So make sure that you talk to your contractor beforehand and ensure that all your requirements are included in the price.
Don’t part with too much money at one time
A very bad idea is to pay all money up front! Without the promise of future payment, there is no way to ensure that the contractor will do his job properly. You need to set up a payment plan and make sure that your contractor agrees to this payment plan.
Hopefully, these tips will help you find a good contractor and ensure that you end up with a house you love! Good luck!
