I’ve got more stories that I could tell you about home improvement leads, than I have fingers and toes to count them on. Anything from the most wonderful contractor in the world, to the worst home remodeling nightmares of the century. I’ve heard them all and I’m here to tell you about the pitfalls, from using home-improvement leads.
Nobody really cares about the good home-improvement stories, so I’m going to skip the wonderful contractor who remodeled the bathroom for $100 and did a fantastic job. The contractor also became friends with the family and now maintains their front and backyard for free. I’m going to skip that story and get right to the problems.
I don’t know how many times I either worked with a homeowner, for a homeowner or heard a story about a homeowner who found a contractor from one of their friends. Some home improvement leads aren’t going to work out like you envision them to. The pictures that you have in your mind, might not be what you end up with, after the job is completed.
Any homeowners who received a recommendation for a contractor, needs to check them out. Don’t assume that your friend already has. Check your contractor to make sure that they’re licensed, bonded and insured, if your state requires this. If they have any employees, make sure that they have the required insurance and that the workers aren’t working here illegally.
Just because you’ve got a recommendation, doesn’t mean that you found an honest, dependable or reliable contractor. The recommendation is just a foot in the door for the contractor. It’s time for you to start doing some serious research. I don’t know how many homeowners, hire someone who is recommended to them and never even checks to see if they’re licensed.
Don’t get caught in this trap. Simply by checking their license, you could eliminate almost half of your potential problems.
