It makes a lot of sense to hire a pro for any kind of job rather than try to take it by yourself. At the same time, wrong choice of contractor can also lead to delays, sub standard or even legal issues. As such, it is upon you as homeowner or investor to ensure that you choose the best contractor available in market. Below are tips to help you choose the best New Orleans contractors and also ensure good working relationship.
Nothing can beat word of mouth when looking for any service provider. You should not over rely on newspaper or television advertisements or yellow pages. In fact, the best contractors do not have to advertise themselves to get clients. Most of their customers come from referrals. So if you get a homeowner who was satisfied with the contractor who renovated his/her apartment; that would be the best person to seek referral from.
It is also important that you get quotes from at least three companies. This usually seems obvious but so many people do not actually do it. The disparity between two quotes for the same job is sometimes too big to be ignored. If you are only getting one quotes, chances are very high that you are wasting money and marring your return on investment.
You also need to determine all licensing regulations in your state before making a choice. In New Orleans for instance, a contractor cannot operate without a valid license issued by the relevant authority. Any contractor operating without this very important document is doing so illegally. It is therefore upon you to verify that your prospective contractor has a valid license before committing into working with him.
Another very important factor that you must forget is the insurance cover. Construction industry is one that is full of risks. For instance, you never know when one of the workers will incur injuries or when construction materials will be destroyed. You thus need a contractor with both personal injury cover as well as liability cover to safeguard you against such eventualities.
Sometimes it is usually good to go with your instinct. In fact, instincts are usually very powerful and saved a lot of people from potential disastrous situations. So if you are unsure about what to do, you better go with your guts. Good contractors do not always shy away from giving warranty. So any contractor who is not comfortable with warranty is likely to be an incompetent one.
Once you identify a reputable contractor, it is important to get every detail in ink. In an ideal world, just a handshake with your contractor would be enough. However, the world is not perfect and thus a handshake will not be enough. So, in order to stay away from unscrupulous outworkers, you should always insist on written contract.
The key to finding the best contractor is always to start the search early and conducting thorough investigation. Do not just choose the first outworker who comes your way and hope that all will be well. If possible, you should also ask for warranty.
Nothing can beat word of mouth when looking for any service provider. You should not over rely on newspaper or television advertisements or yellow pages. In fact, the best contractors do not have to advertise themselves to get clients. Most of their customers come from referrals. So if you get a homeowner who was satisfied with the contractor who renovated his/her apartment; that would be the best person to seek referral from.
It is also important that you get quotes from at least three companies. This usually seems obvious but so many people do not actually do it. The disparity between two quotes for the same job is sometimes too big to be ignored. If you are only getting one quotes, chances are very high that you are wasting money and marring your return on investment.
You also need to determine all licensing regulations in your state before making a choice. In New Orleans for instance, a contractor cannot operate without a valid license issued by the relevant authority. Any contractor operating without this very important document is doing so illegally. It is therefore upon you to verify that your prospective contractor has a valid license before committing into working with him.
Another very important factor that you must forget is the insurance cover. Construction industry is one that is full of risks. For instance, you never know when one of the workers will incur injuries or when construction materials will be destroyed. You thus need a contractor with both personal injury cover as well as liability cover to safeguard you against such eventualities.
Sometimes it is usually good to go with your instinct. In fact, instincts are usually very powerful and saved a lot of people from potential disastrous situations. So if you are unsure about what to do, you better go with your guts. Good contractors do not always shy away from giving warranty. So any contractor who is not comfortable with warranty is likely to be an incompetent one.
Once you identify a reputable contractor, it is important to get every detail in ink. In an ideal world, just a handshake with your contractor would be enough. However, the world is not perfect and thus a handshake will not be enough. So, in order to stay away from unscrupulous outworkers, you should always insist on written contract.
The key to finding the best contractor is always to start the search early and conducting thorough investigation. Do not just choose the first outworker who comes your way and hope that all will be well. If possible, you should also ask for warranty.
No comments:
Post a Comment