Hiring a Contractor: Checking References and Asking Questions

If you are in need of a contractor, one of the most important things you can do is ask for references. A company that can provide no former customers who are satisfied enough to speak highly of them is a company to avoid. For best results, you should be hiring only those companies that you've been recommended by friends, family, or online reviews. But if you couldn't find anyone through those methods, references are an absolute must. But merely having references isn't enough. You need to call them, talk to them, and ask them questions. Here are some of the answers you want.

What was your level of satisfaction?

Don't just let a reference give you a prepared speech that sounds as if it was written by the contractor. Ask them questions. If they are unwilling to answer them, discard them as if the company had given you no one at all. If a homeowner agrees to be used as a company's reference, they should be willing to answer a few questions. That doesn't mean they want to be interviewed for a half hour, but they should be willing to tell you a few things about why they were so happy with the company's work.

Did they finish on schedule?

You don't want a contractor dragging a weeklong project into a two-month ordeal. Yet it happens all the time. While there is nothing you can do to prevent the unexpected, you can find out if this is typical for this company or not. Ask the references you receive if they had the work finished on time or not.

How clean was the workspace?

This may or may not be important to you. If you have kids and pets running around the house, you need to make sure the contractor is keeping the space as clean and safe as possible. If you're hiring someone to come work on your business, the same applies. Certainly, few construction projects can be completed without a certain degree of mess. But there's a difference between understandable clutter and ridiculousness.

Did they stick within the estimate?

No one likes to get a surprise bill at the end of the job. Make sure the contractor you're thinking of hiring is able to complete the work for the amount they agreed upon. While things can always go awry and you should have a budget that allows for unexpected overruns, you should at least make sure you hire someone who doesn't habitually charge their customers more than the amount they quoted at the outset.