5 Ways to Stay Informed

Written By Phillip Carabin

We've been getting calls left and right from clients that had a contractor take a deposit, and either they don't hear from them again, or they have to fire them part of the way through the job because their work quality is so poor. It’s never fun to hear from clients that this has happened to them, and we thought we’d give a little advice to try and keep you informed when hiring a contractor.

Here are 5 ways to protect yourselves from incidents like these:

  1. Ask the contractor for references! If they have good quality work, they shouldn't be worried about giving references. 

  2. Check their reviews. While we don't have a ton of reviews right now, across Google, Facebook and Yelp are all 5 stars.

  3. Get multiple quotes. If their quote comes in way under what other people quoted you, it's likely because they don't know what they are doing and want a quick buck. This isn't to say all jobs should be highly priced, but it should be a red flag if a person is telling you they can get the job done for a price that is usually less than what materials are costing. 

  4. Ask if the contractor has insurance, and if they use contracts. There should be a contract in place where, if you have to fire them halfway through the contract, there are protections in place on both sides. This is also important for when a job is finished; we offer clients 30 days to call us back if they see anything that doesn't look perfect for us to fix, free of charge.

  5. Double check the photos you are looking at from the contractor! Nowadays, AI is everywhere, and it can be deceiving. Websites like this one help you to see if it's AI or not if you have a hard time spotting it: AI Image Detector: Detect AI Generated Images

At the end of the day, this is something everyone goes through, unfortunately. Even I have been scammed by a contractor when I got my first home (the red flag there should have been that he drove up to our house in on an eBike). It can happen to anyone, and you are not to blame. As much as we are happy to help you in a pinch if this happens to you, we also want to help you make educated decisions the first time around! These five points aren’t a guarantee still that a contractor will be of A+ service, but it is a good starting point. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Phillip Carabin