Politics and Partisanship in Finding Home Improvement Contractors

by Marcus Pickett

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No matter who voted for, you can't deny the calls of politicians to come together as one nation. As much as the economy, housing, and foreign affairs are dominating headlines of the obstacles we must face together, on a local level, one problem homeowners across the country have consistently faced is finding a qualified contractor for their home improvement projects.

Blue States and Big Cities: Beware of the Phonebook
Many people who live in or near big cities rely on the phonebook to find a whole litany of services. With home improvement contractors, this is a dangerous route to take, and hiring the first person you call is asking for disaster. Use the Internet. With online customer reviews, no hurry should be so big that you can't do your homework on a contractor before you hire him or her. If you're not in a hurry, ask around, search the Internet. Some of the best local contractors may not even be listed in the phone book. This doesn't necessarily mean they're not on the up-and-up. The most desired contractors tend to have a full schedule. They may not even need to advertise in the phone book to create a clientele base.

The biggest advantage you have in a major city is choice. If you have ample financial resources, but don't want to spend a bunch of your personal time hand-holding a contractor, high-end, full-service remodeling companies will go out of their way to reduce the hassle of home improvement projects. If you have the time to spend, but need to stick to a tight budget, there are a bunch of trustworthy, independent journeymen who can work with you to shave dollars off the bottom line without sacrificing the basic integrity of the project.

Red States and Rural Towns: The Community Answer
Some rural homeowners may have been relying on one person for all their home improvement needs. What happens when this person becomes sick, dies, or leaves town? Sometimes the biggest problem in rural town isn't finding the best person; it's finding any qualified contractor at all. You may know everybody in your town, but do you know everybody in the next county? What about two counties over? If you do need to find someone whose business is located outside their typical service area, try talking to your neighbors. If you can offer a contractor the possibility of several projects, he or she is much more likely to be willing to make the commute.

That said, you probably have more options that you realize. Online phonebooks are one option, but some Internet companies will actually do the work for you, matching you to contractors in your area and screening them for proper licensing. This is what one homeowner from just outside Laramie, WY said about using an online contractor referral service after finding maid service for her home: "It's a good quick way to get a cleaning person when you live out of town."

One America, One Goal: Get it Done Right the First Time
In the end, everybody wants the same thing: a better America, a reliable contractor. Finding the right contractor for the job isn't easy, but it's not as complicated as spending hundreds of years perfecting a union in a country as diverse as the United States. The hallmark of choosing a contractor in large metropolitan areas is customer referrals and background checks. In rural towns, it's meeting face-to-face and using your intuition. The truth is both are valuable tools, and neither should be neglected. Homeowners from all over the country extol the virtue of both resources.

From Jonesboro, GA, this homeowner spent $4,500 on a natural stone countertop: "Talk to the contractors, and go with your gut feel on who you think will be easiest to work with, communicate with, and be around to call back."

From Baltimore, MD, this homeowner spent $9,000 on a new air conditioning system: "Shop around and go with your gut feeling. The first couple of guys that we talked to did not feel comfortable at all."

From Pine Hill, NJ, this homeowner spent $5,000 for mold remediation: "Do your homework. Some of the companies I talked to were rip offs. Contact every agency available to check out any complaints."

From Thornton, CO, this homeowner spent $2,000 on drywall installation: "Most of the other drywall contractors either did not respond or gave outrageous quotes without measuring the project. Get as many quotes as possible and check the background of the subcontracting."

Sure, trying to find a home improvement contractor in Bozeman, MT is different than trying to find one for Manhattan's Upper West Side, but the basics can be remarkably similar. Home improvement is a $300 billion-a-year industry. Each year, homeowners lose millions of dollars on home improvement scams alone, and untold billions by failing to find the best contractor available. You may think that you're smart enough to see a good deal, but the best deal always involves balancing cost with quality, estimates with true "costs." No matter where you live, you can never do too much research, you can never be too careful.

Marcus Pickett is a professional freelance writer for the home remodeling industry. He has published more than 600 articles on both regional and national topics within the home improvement industry.