Many a soul has hired a contractor to do repairs or improvements on a home only to find something is fishy. Here are some tips to avoid problems.
Home Improvement Contract Tips
Hiring a contractor to do work on your home is not always as easy as it sounds. Many people call themselves contractors, but really are not. The first step to avoiding problems is to make sure you hire someone with who is actually licensed as a contractor. If you subsequently have problems, you can contact the licensing board to raise a dispute.
Most contractors are ethical, honest people and businesses. There are, however, others who are not. These individuals assume you do not really know what is involved in the construction process. This provides them with an opening to make substantially more profit. While you might think this means they will overbid the project, it does not. Most contractors believe you will pick the lowest price, so they rarely run up their estimate. There are, however, two other ways to boost profit.
The first thing unethical contractors will do is use low quality supplies. As with anything you buy, there is a high quality and lower quality version. While you may want the high quality version, you may have a hard time determining if you received it. The difference between high and low quality is often how long something lasts, not how it appears. The way to beat this problem is to specify the exact brand, size and part number [if possible] in your contract. Doing so accomplishes two things. First, it puts the contractor on notice that you know how the process works. Second, you can always resort to legal action if you later find the correct materials were not used. Since you have everything in writing, the contractor has little defense.
A second unethical tactic is the bait and switch. In this process, the contractor gives you a bid price that can’t possibly cover the project. You think you are getting a deal, but the contractor starts coming to you after the project has started requesting more money. The contractor refuses to continue work if you do not pony up. In this situation, the best defense is again to have everything in writing in the project contract. Make sure to include an attorney’s fee clause in it. If the contractor tries this tactic, you should contact an attorney. The attorney will set the contractor straight. If the contract refuses to finish the job, you will probably be told by the attorney to hire a new contractor while he sues the unethical one. Since an attorney’s fee clause is included in the agreement, you should end up paying no legal fees. This is not the best situation, but it beats getting scammed.
In general, the best way to find a contractor is to ask for referrals from trusted friends. Next, get everything in writing. With these two steps, you should avoid any major problems.
By: Raynor James
Posts Tagged ‘Hard Time’
Home Improvement Contract Tips
January 27th, 2010A Guide for Purchasing a Quality Vacuum Cleaner
January 3rd, 2010
There are thousands of types of vacuum cleaners and it can be confusing to know what type you should buy. Vacuums also vary greatly in price. Is it worth spending several hundred dollars on a vacuum or will a cheaper one suffice?
The first thing you must determine is what you are planning to do with your vacuum. Is it simply to vacuum the rugs in your apartment? Do you have a large home with a lot of carpeting? Do you want a vacuum that can operate on wood floors as well?
Vacuums can also be used in vehicles or in shops. It is important to determine what you want to do with your vacuum cleaner before you set out to purchase one.
Most vacuum cleaners are upright models now. However, there are still a few canister type models available. The better quality vacuums now come in the bagless variety. This means that all the dirt collected goes into a container which you simply remove from the vacuum and dump into the trash. Although vacuums with this feature typically cost more, you will save in the long run because you will not have to purchase vacuum bags. Also, it is a lot more convenient than realizing at the last minute that you are out of bags.
There are newer vacuum cleaners which don’t use suction at all. Many people believe they work better than the suction type vacuums because they can not become clogged.
Hate to vacuum? Perhaps you should consider one of the robotic vacuum cleaners. They vacuum the floor on their own. They usually are round and have a hard time getting into corners so you might have to follow up with some spot cleaning every now and then.
If you want to purchase a nice vacuum don’t forget about the extras. A quality vacuum will have an indicator that lets you know when the bag is full, if it is not bagless. A good vacuum should have headlights and be able to be adjusted depending on the height of your carpet or bare floor. The vacuum should also have accessories such as a curtain brush and a detachable crevice cleaner. It is even better if all these attach to the vacuum for easy storage.
Check to see what type of warranty the vacuum has. You will always need a vacuum cleaner and it is worth having one that is built to last and has a company who is willing to stand behind it.
Perhaps the most important factor in buying a quality vacuum cleaner is whether or not it is easy to find replacement vacuum cleaner parts and vacuum filters. It is easy to find Hoover parts for your vacuum but a lot more difficult to find store brand parts.
There are many vacuums to chose from. Vacuums even come in custom colors now! By taking into consideration these simple items, you are likely to find a vacuum that you are happy with for a long time.
By: Natalie Aranda
The Difference Between a Quality Home Painting Contractor and a Scam Artist
October 9th, 2009
Today’s world is filled with a vast array of different types of people. It used to be that you could very easily decipher the difference between an honest man and a liar. In my experience, it is not so easy anymore. I have seen some very tragic things take place in my time; most of which have to do with dishonest people ripping off honest people.
As a result of my experience with a home painting contractor, I have decided to publish this article with the intention of helping the honest man (hopefully you) avoid the dishonest man.
Let’s begin with identifying some of the traits of a scam contractor.
Under or Over Priced
The first thing that will be a dead give away is pricing. Typically, a scam contractor will be at one extreme or the other as far as pricing is concerned. Also, they will usually quote you without doing a whole lot of investigation as it relates to how much work will be required to do a bang up job on your home.
If they are operating on the left extreme, they will offer an extremely low rate. The rate will appear as if they might even be loosing money on the job. You will probably wonder how they can do the job for such a low price. Well, the answer is that they can do the job for such a low price because they do not plan on doing the job like a seasoned veteran would. You are getting what you pay for.
Now, if they operate from the right hand extreme, the quoted price will seem very unreasonable. It will probably seem as if they are over charging you and chances are they probably are. In most cases, they will have a hard time justifying the cost. It will seem as if they are making things up in order to do so.
Let’s look at the 2nd red flag now.
Time line
A scam contractor will usually give you a time line that appears very fast. This is because they are more interested in quantity rather than quality. They are trying to get as many jobs done in as short a time span as possible.
Why?
More money! Home painting contractors get paid by the job. So, the more jobs they can do, the more money they get paid.
The True Home Painting Contractor
Now that we have identified the 2 major red flags to look for in a scam artist, let’s pay some mind to what you can expect to see from an honest professional.
1. Quality Time
The first thing that you will notice about an honest professional is that they will exhibit a focused interest toward what you are really looking for. They will spend quality time on the appraisal and you will notice that they actually put effort into their investigation.
2. Reasonable Quote
The most important thing that you will notice from an honest house painting contractor is that the quote that you receive from them will appear to be very reasonable. It will certainly not be the cheapest quote; however, it will not be the most expensive either. They will also be able to clearly justify all of the costs.
A Helpful Tip
The most important thing that you can remember to do when searching for a home painting contractor is to follow your intuition. If the person you are dealing with gives you a bad feeling, keep searching until you find one that your intuition says you can trust.
Remember, it’s your money. You get to choose where you spend it!
By: Violet Williams
