Rosie on the House: How to Avoid Choosing a Bad Contractor

Question: Our neighbors just had a horrible experience with a contractor they hired to remodel and update their home. How can we protect ourselves from the same kind of experience?

Answer: There are certainly things one can do to guard against a bad contractor experience. Let’s start with three ways not to a hire a contractor:

• Don’t hire a contractor that comes knocking on your door. Often times contractors will come into a state that is in a significant state of growth or suffering from a natural disaster.

A common practice is for the person or company to pay to “borrow” a local contractors license for the duration of the demand. This is an illegal practice. They are, most likely, more opportunist than they are a reliable contractor.

Their best opportunity to gain customers is by knocking on doors. When the demand has passed, they often return home leaving no one to warranty work that has been completed. Or worse, they skip town after money has been collected and before the work has been completed.

• Don’t believe that the lowest bid is the greatest value. When homeowners compare the bids of several contractors, they are often tempted to choose the cheapest bid. Their first question for the lowest bidder should be, ‘what is missing?’

One way for a contractor to come up with the cheapest bid is to cut corners or leave something out. Often, the cuts are severe enough that the contractor must rely on adding change orders to make up the difference and make a profit. What started out as the lowest bid generally ends up being “change ordered” to the most expensive bid.

• Don’t short your research. It is not enough to just look up a contractor’s license number. Make sure that the license number is posted in print on all official paperwork, business cards and anywhere their name appears.

Look for the expiration date of the license. Is their license good through the anticipated time of the work? Make sure they are licensed in the area of expertise you are hiring them for. You don’t want a plumber working on your electrical system. Check that the owner’s name on the license is the same on the website. Check to see if the owner has other companies and, if there are others, investigate them thoroughly as well.

Q: How do I go about finding a reliable contractor?

A: Investigation is key. Rosie suggests the following:

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

• Visit wholesale showrooms for the materials you will need such as tile, plumbing and carpet. Ask for referrals for your job. They will usually refer contractors who are timely in paying their bills.
• For a kitchen remodel, visit two or three appliance distributors. In addition to learning about the newest features, ask each representative you speak with to recommend a kitchen remodeler that he likes and has observed working with customers.
• There is a good chance the same name will pop up more than once. If so, you are on the right track.
• Don’t rely on social media for reliable information. We are very skeptical of most digital review sites. They are easily accosted for personal vendettas or manipulated or sanitized for the named company’s benefit. If you must check review sites, look for sites like Guild Quality as their reviews are verified to be legitimate customers and reviews.

Q: What questions should I ask referrals?

A: For starters, was the job kept organized and clean for the duration of the job by all of the subcontractors involved?

• Were subcontractors and suppliers adequately and correctly informed of the scope of work to be performed?
• When questions arose was your contractor immediately available?
• Was the project completed on time? If change orders were made was the time added to the project reasonable as well?
• Were there surprise change orders?
• Had they interviewed anyone else that they wish they had chosen instead?

Getting to know the contractor: Now that you have done some preliminary work, set up a meeting with two or three contractors. You will want to become a detail hog from here on out.

Take nothing for granted. Ask if the communication is reliable? Do they call and show up when they say they will?

Visit with their past customers. Ask for the names and contact numbers of the last three jobs they have completed. Interview these clients with the questions listed above.

Also, visit jobs in progress. Take a look at one of their jobs that is currently in progress. Are there piles of litter and trash? Is the crew conscientious to their surroundings?

Check out their office, even if it is a pickup truck. Is paperwork neat and orderly or haphazardly strewn around the truck?

The time to ask questions is before you hire a contractor. We hear from many homeowners who have hired a contractor based on one or two pieces of information, did not choose well, and then are then left holding the bag.