How to Pick a Home Repair Contractor

Some projects around the home are too big or too time consuming to tackle yourself. In those cases you want to swing a checkbook instead of a hammer. But picking a professional contractor for a major roofing or exterior home painting can be a bit overwhelming. Where do you look and how do you evaluate them and their quotes?

Getting contractor bids and evaluating estimates is something you need to know how to do to protect yourself and end up with a successful project. It's also not fair to a good contractor who does a detailed proposal and includes a full scope of work, to have their price compared to a fly-by-night company who throws a low-ball number out there just to get your business. Nobody wins in that situation.

Evaluating Bids:
Most contractors are hard working and knowledgeable pros who want to do a good job and an informed consumer is often their best customer. So read Getting Contractor Bids and Evaluating an Estimate and learn how to scope a project, understand what to look for in the bids of different contractors like painters, roofers, plumbers, etc. You'll learn that what is "Excluded" in a bid is often as important as what is "Included" in the proposal. And don't forget to read about how to evaluate price, payment terms and what it means if your contractor is proposing "incentives" to you.

Checking Out Your Potential Contractor:
Once you have your quotes and a short list of contractors you want to check them out. In the 10-step tutorial How to Check Out a Home Repair Contractor I outline the 10 point checklist recommended by ServiceMagic when evaluating a contractor. It includes checking for trade licenses, criminal records, bankruptcies, liens and more.

With a little preparation you'll be able to communicate much more successfully with your contractor, you'll have picked a winner and you'll both enjoy the process.