Hiring someone for home improvement
Improving your home is a great way to add equity, as well as a great way to make it a more enjoyable and functional place to live. Unfortunately, when it comes to home improvement you have a lot of options, you can do the improvements yourself, or you can hire someone to do them. The hiring someone is the part that gets tricky. Because you really do not need any special degree to be able to paint, lay tile, etc. it can be difficult to determine when you are hiring someone who is as professional and as qualified as they claim to be. You may end up with a half done project, a poorly constructed project, or one that takes far longer than it should have. The following are some tips for hiring someone for home improvement:
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- Where do you find the person? One of the best places for finding someone to hire for home improvement is through the yellow pages. If they are paying for telephone book ad space they are not likely a part timer, or a novice, rather a professional soliciting business. Look for someone that has trucks with professionally done logos and graphics, or someone that has a physical office. What you do not want is someone with a magnetic sign that sticks on the door of their personal vehicle, as this usually indicates entry level, or part time, and is not nearly as professional. You may pay more, but the quality will be higher as well.
- Ask about licenses. In many areas of home improvement a license or certification is required, such as electrical, HVAC, etc. While other people certainly know how to do these things, you want to hire someone who is certified and licensed to do it. For things like painting, where no licenses or certifications are required, look for someone who at the very least has a registered business with a business license. This shows that they are serious about their work as a painter, and have spent time and money to be one.
- References, references, references. It is key to your happiness with any home improvement job that you check out the references of anyone you plan to hire. As most home improvement work is done in a specified area, you can do not have to worry about their examples not being local. If they give you a line about having just moved from another state, thank them for their time, and use someone else. While it may be true, it may also mean that they have no positive references, or that their work is shoddy, and so they do not want you to see it. So, do not just call the people they give you as references, if possible go to their house and check out the person's work. Look at the tile floors, the paint jobs, check their electrical, etc. A minimum of three references is prudent when hiring someone for home improvement.
If you follow the three simple tips given above, chances are you will have an experience that is not a giant headache. In addition, make sure you do not pay them upfront, and make sure that you are on sight, or at least check in frequently in order to keep them honest and working hard.
