How can you find a home renovation expert to help prepare your house for sale?
Finding the best local home renovation experts and renovation contractors to fix your house’s repairs can be broken down into simple steps. These steps will ensure your house renovation goes smoothly, so you can sell your house.
When selling your house, you will be required to repair it and make it look nice, like other homes sold in your area. The best way to do this is to hire a renovation contractor to make the repairs well and in a timely fashion. But, one downside of making these repairs is it can become costly. However, we will talk about that later.
In this initial guide, you will get some great information about choosing a contractor to help you with your next home renovation. I had a chance to pick the brain of a real estate investor in Denver, Colorado and he gave a few insider tips for the people at home. He has been buying and selling homes in Denver for over a decade. He said, “the Denver housing market has really transformed over the last ten years, however, the process for finding the best contractor has not. Whether you are in Wisconsin, Phoenix, Indianapolis, or Denver, the basics of finding a contractor and vetting them are basically the same.”
Let’s get talking about how to find a home renovation person to get the job done.
Are you ready?
Best Place To Find Home Renovation Contractors in Wisconsin
The best place to start your search is online. By searching online, you will get a multitude of options. If you are using Google to search for contractors, you will be brought to Google reviews. Check them out. I do remember that upset clients are ten times more likely to complain. But, it would be best to give the contractor the opportunity to explain a particular situation.
Another great source of finding a home remodeling contractor is to ask family, friends, and associates. Maybe they know a contractor that could do a great job. You could also search for a contractor by driving around your neighborhood. Who knows, you can spot a contractor at work by a dumpster outside a house, or a trades person’s truck is pulled up along the road. If this is the case, you could politely ask them or the homeowner for a referral.
Interviewing Home Renovation Contractors
Once you have a list of potential contractors to help you, the next step is to interview them. In this stage, you’ll give the contractor a call and ask them some questions to get a sense of who they are and to begin building a relationship.
The qualities I believe a contractor should have, is a commitment to quality, timeliness, and budgeting skills. I also think when performing a home renovation, the contractor should be willing to explain in layman’s terms what is happening, when the next step will occur and when the job should be completed. I also like to work with contractors who are willing to talk to me at least twice a week in person or over the phone to keep me apprised of what is going on with the home renovation.
And, a crucial question to ask the home renovation contractors is whether they carry the necessary licensing and insurance. When performing remodels and repairs on houses, some items may need the local government for city permits. It is imperative for the contractor to have all the necessary steps. Otherwise, you may end up with a hefty fine.
We spoke to a cash home buyer who buys houses in Denver, repairs them, and then either rents them out or sells them to a new homeowner. He said, “If a contractor does not get the required permits it can slow the house renovation down significantly or bring it to a complete halt. When we are flipping a home, we need to sell the Denver property fast. So when we hire a contractor to help for house remodeling, we always ask about insurance, licensing and their understanding of local government rules and regulations.”
Schedule A Meeting With Your Contractors
After you’ve spoken to several contractors, the next step is to meet them in person. That’s right– it’s time to meet our new contractor. The first thing the contractor must do is turn up on time. To me, if the contract can’t turn up on time, at least for the first meeting, that’s a real problem. Once the contract has turned up, I typically ask some of the questions that I asked on the phone. By asking the same questions, you can get a feel if they are making things up or if they are consistent. I also like to ask about the safety of himself, and his crew while performing the necessary work. If you want to have some basic knowledge about safety, you should go to the occupational safety and health administration website. You’ll find a multitude of information for every industry imaginable.
Are you getting a fair price from your home remodeling contractor?
The easiest way to understand if you’re getting a fair price is to get a minimum of three quotes. At this point, the cheapest quote is not always the best. You must understand that sometimes a contractor could bid low just to get the job and then halfway through they will tell you that it’s going to cost a lot more.
If a price or quote from one contractor is much lower than another, I typically cut that contractor and get another one that is more in line. Please note, that cheap is not always less expensive, and if you are halfway through a home renovation on your bathroom or kitchen, you can feel trapped. Especially, if the contract starts asking for more money. That is not the situation you would like to be in, right? That’s it– I do not want you to think that the contractor is bad. But just like any industry, you always have to look out for the unscrupulous characters.
Now, you have a great structure to go out and find a house renovation contractor to help you with your next project. Use the step-by-step guide, and your next renovation will go smoothly.