Time after time we hear of clients, friends, and family who’ve been taken advantage of by other contractors. They’ll tell us how they hired a general contractor to remodel their home or finish their basement and it took everything in them to get the project finished. From apathetic contractors that don’t care about your project to overworked contractors who have too much on their plate, it’s hard to plan for bad contractors when they start off so well.
Here are five tips for working with a contractor to keep them on track and not lose focus on your home project.
- Establish Good Communication from the Start
The key to any working relationship is communication. From the very beginning make sure that you set that expectation. Whether you’d want to be regularly updated on their work or ask for everything to be cleared through you before any decisions are made, the relationship should be on your terms. If you want them to communicate with you, it’s important you make that clear from the start.
- Get it in Writing
This point could not be stated enough. Protect yourself-get everything in writing. No matter how trustworthy a contractor seems, you must get what they say in writing. An honest contractor will offer to put things in writing and not ask that you take their word for it. Make sure to get everything in writing.
- Set Expectations
Don’t let your contractor get away with things-especially if it happens often. Yes, things happen, but that shouldn’t be the norm. If you set your expectations high, then they will work hard to meet those expectations. If you set them low, then be assured that you’ll get lackluster work that meets those low expectations.
- Regularly Check their Work
This should be assumed, but make sure that you continually check their work. Not only is this important for keeping your project on time and within your budget, but in making sure the project results are what you’re expecting. Don’t be afraid to be annoying. Your contractor should welcome your check-ups and is, more than likely, expecting them.
- Only Pay for Completed Work
This is another big one-only pay for work that has been completed. We’ve heard of too many horror stories where work was paid for and never completed or took extra-long to be completed. Don’t get taken advantage of-tell your contractor up front that you’ll only pay for the work that’s done.
Find an Honest Contractor with Aspire Construction
Our team of home-building and remodeling experts works hard to go above and beyond your expectations. We believe that honesty lies within openness, we keep our communication lines open throughout the entire project and work hard to complete your project on time and within the budget. Your home is as important to you as it is to us.
Contact Aspire Construction to get started on your contracting project.