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How to Choose the Right Contractor or Handyman

Whether it’s your first or your fifth house, every homeowner understands the dilemma of fixing something on your own, or hiring a professional contractor or handyman.

But if you decide to bring in someone else to take care of the repairs, the question becomes who, and how you even go about finding the best person for the job?

When you don’t have personal recommendations from friends and neighbors to fall back on, it comes down to your own research and intuition to choose the right expert in your area. Luckily, there are a few ways to make the selection process a little easier on you, and that should help you stay organized through it all. That way, you just have to worry about getting the ball rolling on your home improvement project!

Nail down the details

If you can’t accurately and succinctly describe the project to yourself, it’s unlikely that you’ll have a better description for any potential contractors you reach out to. So before you start Googling who got better reviews from past customers, nail down the details and everything you want done. Every handyman is different, and may not have the experience needed to take on the kind of project you want completed in your home, while someone else might be the regional expert. Not only will this list help you locate the best professional to take on the work, but thinking everything through like this also useful when it comes time to price out the project and compare that to your projected budget.

Weigh your options

As with any major undertaking, a home improvement project is going to take time and money: both precious commodities! Keeping that in mind, it’s ok to shop around until you feel comfortable hiring someone to do the work. Owning a house, and adding anything on or fixing something, is a continual investment. But that doesn’t mean you have to go broke getting it done. Compare contractor rates alongside customer reviews and project portfolios. You’re also well within your rights to contact one professional, get an estimate or bid for the project, and end up hiring the competition if it’s a better fit.

Cover your bases

As you begin searching the web and making phone calls, you might start getting unsolicited bids or offers from other handymen. Your local experts on the Michelle Clark Team advise against meeting with any of these options, as this tends to be a sign of scams or less than scrupulous business practices. And when you do decide on who you want to work with, you’ll want to make sure to get everything in writing – including a guaranteed window on the project’s cost and estimated completion date. Things come up and knock a schedule off course, but at least you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing there’s a written record of your understanding at the onset.

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