Advice For The New Homeowner About Contractors

Some advice for new homeowners found on the boston.com website.

Today, I met a contractor who will do a “contractor’s inspection” for people who are about to be homeowners, but don’t own the house yet. Great service! This is not a pre-purchase inspection; it is more a life-of-the-house estimate.

Because he is a contractor, he can give estimates on work he may do. He also gave what I thought was great advice on how to think about working with contractors. I like his advice, what do you think?

1. When renovating a room, do it all at once. For example, don’t change the counter, then the cabinets, then the appliances over time. If you can do it all together, you will be happier with the results. You avoid one part drawing attention to what is wrong with the other parts.
2. Workers get paid about the same amount for their time. Most of the time, if a contractor is more expensive, that contractor is doing more labor. (This applies to workers doing the same job.) You can save money by doing some of the work yourself or hiring coordinating the schedules of your own electricians, plumbers and carpenters. In this way, you save management money, but you do the management. The general rule is “you get what you pay for.”
3. To figure out how responsive a contractor is, ask for a copy of their insurance certificate. This should not take more than a few days. If it takes longer, or you never see it, watch out!

What else do new homeowners need to know?

Original article an be found here: http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/blogs/renow/2008/08/advice_for_the.html