Contractor: Tips on Hiring a Qualified Professional

If you are ready to make some home improvements, you are probably in the market for a good contractor. Since you are putting your trust in this person to make sure your home not only looks better than before, but is still safe, it is important that you get someone that has a great record. Consider the top tips on getting a reputable professional to complete your projects. 

If you know family members or friends who have had work done on their homes recently, ask them who they used as a contractor. Some of them might let you know that they did not use one, but instead did the work themselves or simply use a handyman. However, it is likely that at least someone you know has hired a professional to make major changes to their house, such as adding onto the structure or knocking out a wall to make a room seem more open. Ask for recommendations, as well as contractors that you should stay away from. 

You can also ask those you do not know well for recommendations, as long as you know they recently had work done. For example, if your neighbor has had a big project going on recently and the result looks good, consider asking them who they used. They might get a discount or reward for referring new customers to the contractor, so they will likely be happy to recommend their professional. 

Once you know of a few contractors in the area, you should check to make sure they have a good record. If they own a business, check the Better Business Bureau listings to ensure that they have few, if any, complaints that have not been resolved. You can also put their business name into search engines online to find out if anyone has raved or ranted about them. An individual with no company name might be harder to get information about, but a name should still come up in a search engine if he has done much work in the past. 

Before you hire anyone to perform large projects on your house, you should do your research. Fortunately, these days it is not hard to do with the help of the Internet, but the traditional way of getting recommendations from friends and family is still fine. If you hire just anyone without knowing their history, you might face unfinished projects, results you do not like, or even dangerous issues, such as damage to your house or safety hazards for you.