Lesson #1: Never, never, never place any trust in contractors, designers, landscapers, or anyone else in the home repair/renovation/building profession. In addition, do not trust web sites that promote their so called “screened” network of professionals. In my experience these anti-consumer web sites make their money charging monthly fees to contractors and subcontractors.
Lesson #2: Let them know you don’t trust them and treat them as though you are their bank, finance company and employer. The more money they want from you, the more information you need from them.
You need in your hand, not in their hands this kind of paperwork:
Licenses, Insurance, Bonds, Homeowner lien waivers, Worker compensation insurance, warranties, permits, etc.
The more money they want the more info you want from them. Make it a requirement to request their Personal Information such as home address, business address, home and business phone numbers, social security number, driver’s license number or copy of driver license.
Most likely they have all types of personal information on the homeowner, so they can easily come back and file a law suit against your assets. However without reliable and accurate information, it is almost impossible to file a law suit on the contractor and expect to recover their assets.
Lesson #3: Use a Private Investigator and/or background check search with criminal records search. Why trust ten thousand dollars or more to someone who you don’t know from Adam’s house cat? Many homeowners discover after the fact, that Mr. Crappy has a record of lawsuits and complaints. In the self made home renovation business, crime does pay. Don’t trust your home to anyone without investigating their business and criminal history.
Lesson #4: Prepare a project diary, with a camcorder, tape recorder, camera and/or journal of the project from start to finish. Purchase an inexpensive daily planner specially for the home project journal, and note every telephone call, missed appointment, face to face communication, etc in this planner. Always assume something will go wrong, and this journal record will be your best source of information if the project goes downs the toilet. Please kept receipts of every nail, brick, plank, etc that the contractor purchased. Don’t trust contractors to place the best quality materials in your home, because most likely they won’t and they depend on your ignorance and gullibility.
Lesson #5: Teach yourself first. Read and print the State building codes requirements. Learn the difference between cheap and superior building materials. Request proof of purchase receipts for everything. Specify in the contract that type of supplies and materials used in the project. Also specify that any changes or alterations must be homeowner approved first if not, then the contractor has defaulted on the agreement.
Lesson #6: Verbal agreements must become written and signed/dated agreements. If you decide to change the paint color, get that in writing. If you decide to plant ferns instead of dogwoods, get that in writing. Always remember what if I need to sue Mr. Crappy, without written proof it becomes my word against Mr. or Ms. Crappy’s words.
Lesson #7: Make sure the contractor complies with State or County building permit regulations. It is important to get these building permits filed with the city’s building office. The contract must specify that the contractor comes out of their pocket pay to repair any work that failed to meet State or County building codes.
Lesson #8: Never, Never, NEVER pay more than 20% upfront. Pay the balance only when the work is totally finished and approved, (if needed by the city building inspector). On thousand dollar or more projects, the contractors who require 50% upfront or want payment in full immediately after finishing are usually crooks. Stay away, far away from these Crappies.
I highly and strongly suggest opening a line of credit rather than using the contractor’s finance company. Financing the project always means the contractor gets everything upfront because the loan is linked to the work. Now suppose this, midway through the project something goes wrong, or your don’t approve of the way your contractor does their work. However you have already signed for the loan offered by the contractor’s finance company. To make a long story short, you got hooked big time. In contrast, with a line of credit you fully control when the money gets dispersed. If something goes wrong before the projects completes, then the contractors has to make it right to get paid by you. Also, if the contractor starts to bullying or decides to skip and miss appointments, then you have the power to fire Mr/Ms Crappy and keep your money.
Lesson #9: Reference letters and certifications don’t mean anything as far as a contractor reliability and integrity. Don’t be fooled by length of service or years of experience either. He or she may have 20 years experience cheating customers. Reference letters are easily faked, written by relatives, friends, spouses, ex-cell mates, whomever. Certifications represent participation in a series of professional/career courses. So what? I experienced some of the worst mistakes by certified Carrier HVAC technician and certified toxic mold re-mediators. Will the company or contractor provide a lifetime warranty on their work? Will they make right what they did wrong, at no cost to you? Can the homeowner file a claim against the contractor’s insurance? Never look over these seemingly minor details, because if something does go wrong, it will be you paying for the repairs.
Lesson #10: Don’t give into being bullied or charmed. Someone is trying to steal from you and they have no feelings about harming your family, health, pets, home, land and assets. Don’t sign anything based on their time-table. Take what ever time you need to make a decision and don’t get pulled into those limited time special discount prices or promotional offers.
Personal stories about the problems caused by hiring negligent home repair, remodeling and building contractors.
Millet Pat the lady that runs this blog is an old clown. That had a possum living in her couch so people please pray for her. She needs are help dearly.
We have been cheated out of at least $35,000 by some very evil people, who claimed they were reliable and honest business men. And frankly we are fed up with sewer rats and snakes acting like home remodelers. These men are beneath the rank of crap, they are more like swine vomit. Why don’t you come by and repair the ceiling in our bedroom or the front lawn that one of your crap contractor’s ruined? Vengeance is mine says God, and we pray everyday for God’s wrath on the heads of the swine vomit contractors that ruined our home and property.
It is a fact that general contractors who receive their license from local authorities are also given the freedom to destroy people’s lives. I am in Florida and a contractor has basically made me penniless and destroyed my place and it is unfinished and uninhabitable, I have been left exhausted, hopeless and with no recourse. I cannot afford and attorney anymore. The city and county governments have basically passed on the buck to each other so has the state consumer services, now the state of Florida licensing board is taking for ever to respond while my bills and property taxes stack up. It seems they do not want to shake the boat for bad contractors because there are so many of them out there and the government only wants their annual licensing fees. Basically the contractor was given a license by the local and state government to rob me and destroy my life.
Less than a decade ago, Georgia did not require general contractors to obtain a State license and only gas, plumbers, electrical and HVAC contractors had licenses and certifications. Nonetheless just because Georgia requires now the licensing of all contractors, this does not offer any protection for homeowners and business owners. Civil lawsuits are basically meaningless pieces of paper, because the plaintiff’s is responsible for collecting the debts off these Crappy Contractors. The Better Business Bureau in my opinion needs to be run out of business, because it offers nothing in way of protections for consumers against fraud. I lost count of the number of complaints that I filed with the BBB against Crappy Contractors and regardless of the amount of documentation submitted the BBB closed each file as unresolved. Worst yet, they continued to apply their BBB seal of recommendation to the Crap Contractor that ruined my home.
The total lack of support from the Secretary of State’s office and the BBB, prompted me to start the My Crappy Contractor’s blog. I felt that if enough consumers began listing their experiences with contractors that ruined their lives, then a grass root effort would push politicians to take our side as opposed to always favoring the contractor industry.
Don’t protect the con artist that took your life. Post his/her name on the blog site for the world to take note that this business should be out of business permanently.
Thanks a lot for the tips, I especially agree with the part about reference and certification, I think the most trustworthy and valuable way to find reliable contractors is through neighbors and friends