Three Ways to Find a Good Contractor
by Tyler Bohlman
Reposted from November 1, 2012
You know, for as much as I talk about what makes a good contractor, and for the amount of information I give about how to make sure you contractor is a good one and won’t steal your money, I haven’t ever really mentioned how to find that contractor. I figure there are a couple ways of going about it…
Ask a friend: This could kill two birds with one stone actually. If you ask a friend or someone that you know about their contractor then you are getting the recommendation part along with finding a contractor for your specific project. This can be a really good way of finding a contractor too because it saves a lot of the time and energy it takes to actually research and try and find the businesses. A downside to finding a contractor this way is that you run the risk of having your friend pull the classic “I know a guy” kind of deal, which can backfire pretty easily. There isn’t anything wrong with the “I know a guy” approach, but sometimes the guy isn’t the right kind of contractor your looking for, or maybe he just isn’t as good/experienced/specialized as someone else in the field.
Find one online: You can find plenty of websites online that have online databases of contractors and handymen that are trusted by that website. The obvious advantage of finding your contractor through this means is that you will have a good deal of automatic trust in that contractor since they come recommended by a website that has standards of who they let in to their database, however that can also be a downside as well. You would greatly assume that the contractor would have to get through a series of tests to make sure that they are allowed on the website, but that’s not always the case. The contractors that you find on these kinds of sites probably aren’t the ones who are going to steal from you mid project, but there is a higher risk of the quality of work being down. The contractors might see these sites as another form of advertising vs. using it as a way of showing off the quality of work. Final downside is that these sites tend to be set up for bigger cities, so if you are living in a smaller town you might not be in that particular websites “network”
Go to the BBB: Our good friends a the Better Business Bureau come to the rescue again. This is the best way for you to find a contractor because you will be able to easily see where the contractor is (since you start the whole process by putting in your zipcode), how you can contact them, and if they are BBB certified. Choosing a BBB certified contractor is the absolute best way to make sure that the contractor you chose is a trustworthy one and one that will do their job. Going through the BBB also ensures that you can find more information on the contractor such as ratings and comments, and that the contractor that you are dealing with is one who will complete your ask, complete it on time, and complete it well.
If anyone has any suggestions for blog posts I would love to hear it! Talk to me here or on facebook and let me know your ideas!
Everybody build safe out there!
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Tyler Bohlman is the Director of Communications for Safepact.com, which offers escrow services to consumers for home improvement project. Read more of his articles at blog.safepact.com.
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