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 ‘Improvements’
Home Improvement Contract Tips
January 27th, 2010Why Should I Apply For A Home Improvement Tax Deduction?
November 22nd, 2009
It’s come time to make some improvements on your house and the prospect seems daunting. However, there is some light in the darkness, a home improvement tax deduction is available in the right instance. One of the first and most important things to know before trying to qualify for a house improvement tax deduction is the difference between repairs and improvement. The reason being is that repairs will not help you at all when it comes to the tax reduction. Home improvement as defined to qualify for the home improvement tax reduction is any addition that improves life and quality to your home. Some examples include, adding a fence, driveway, swimming pool, new heating or cooling systems, adding a room, building a garage, adding insulation, a new roof or new landscaping.
While repairs on the other hand is something you to slow down or stop any depreciation that may be occurring on your home or property. This does not qualify you for the tax reduction. Just so you know, some examples of home repair that do not qualify you include, repainting, any fixing, plumbing or leaks or fixing any broken items. Of course there is one thing that may make you exempt in regards to home repairs and them not qualifying you for a home improvement tax reduction, and that is in the case of remodeling. In this instance you can include anything under a general improvement of the home to qualify you for the deduction. Just make sure the expenses are closely related.
Something else that can be done when qualifying for a tax deduction involves your interest rate on any loan you may receive to make the improvements. By deducting any loan points in the year you got the loan you can benefit even more. In addition, if you decide to refinance your house to improve it you can deduct the loan points that year. The amount that you use is proportional to the amount of loan points that may be deducted and proportional when calculating the house enahncement tax reduction.
Therefore, now that you are aware what qualifies as improvement and what does not you are all set in qualifying for a home improvement tax deduction. In addition, by knowing what exactly to do to benefit the most from the house enhancement tax deduction you are on your way to saving money, and who doesn’t like to do that?
By: Mike Singh
