General Suggestions for Hiring a Raleigh-Durham ContractorIf you are a homeowner in the Raleigh-Durham area you know that eventually you are going to need to call a professional to work on something in, on, or around your home. It is inevitable!As you have read, The Super 7 is the place to turn to easily locate the area pros that are likely going to do the job right and with little headache. However, we would like to offer suggestions as to how you can better ensure the home service pro you hire is going to be a stud and not a dud! Keep in mind that these are guidelines and not absolutes. It is OK to hire a company that may not meet all of the recommendations below, but hiring one that does will lessen your chance of having problems.
This page discusses general suggestions for finding and hiring home service professionals over all industries. However, you can find suggestions for many specific industries by clicking on a category on The Super 7 Home Page.
We recommend: • Asking your friends and neighbors to see if they have had good or bad experiences with local pros. Simply knowing that another person has had a good experience with a contractor lessens your chance of hiring a problem. The Super 7 can help with this. • If you have the time, call a few companies to look at your job. This can help you determine a fair market price. This does not mean you should always go with the lowest price...you should go with the company you feel most comfortable with and who you feel will do the best job. If a contractor is offering a real low price you should ask yourself "why?". • If you don’t have time, we suggest using The Super 7 to locate the one company you choose. We have a list of 7 pros that we consider quality professionals. Additionally, by using the listed companies that are marked as “Certified Super” you are even more likely to hire a headache-free pro. These companies have signed agreements with us and have been pre-screened and selected by our company. We also require customers to voice their experience about listed companies to help ensure that they meet your needs. This gives you POWER. • When meeting with a contractor, inquire as to how long the pro has been in business. You want to hire someone with a proven track record. Lousy professionals don’t stay in business too long, quality pros do. • Look for things that signal a company’s professionalism. Do they have business cards? Do they have business forms? (or did they just hand you your estimate on a piece of crumpled-up notebook paper?) Professionals that take pride in their business will take pride in their work. • Note whether a company answers their phone or returns messages. Contractors are notorious for being hard to contact. This can be a real nightmare. Many home service pros use their cell phones as their main business line. They will not always be able to answer the phone if you call…but they should be able to return your call shortly. Being able to easily contact someone from the company you hire is important. When something goes wrong you want to know that you will be able to talk to your pro right away. If the company doesn’t return calls shortly (or doesn’t even have an answering machine) be wary. • Make sure the company has insurance. There are many fly-by-night people who claim that they are home service pros but may not be insured. If you skip this part you could be held liable for an uninsured workers’ injury while working on your house. Also, if that professional were to damage something in your home you would be stuck holding the bill! • Not all professions require licensing. In NC, all plumbers, heating & air companies, electricians, security system companies, home inspectors, and general contractors require licensing. Make sure you ask if your pro is licensed (if they are required to be). They should have their current license with them. Don’t get sold by pros with excuses as to why they are not licensed or why their license has expired. If their profession depends on being licensed, and they have not taken the time to do so, then it should make you wonder how serious they take their work or if they are in financial distress. • Use this site to search for Raleigh-Durham licensed pros: www.contractors-license.org (Note: Follow the site’s exact search directions to locate your professional. These sites can sometimes have errors, so if you don’t see your pro’s name listed be sure to ask for proof of licensing before writing them off. If they aren’t listed and they are not producing documentation, then be wary!) • Always get an estimate, with a DETAILED statement of work to be performed, in writing. Keep this filed away. Make sure the statement clearly states what work is to be performed. If you have questions about what is covered you need to have the contractor better specify the work in writing on your contract. Spoken comments and verbal agreements mean nothing…so get everything in writing. • Ask for suggestions from the professional as to how to fix your problem or meet your need. Make sure your needs are met by the work being described in the estimate. It doesn’t do any good to get an estimate for 1 coat of paint on a house if your job really requires 2 coats. It may look less expensive on paper, but the additional coat of paint you may require will cost extra. • Make sure you are fixing your problem! That is the most important issue. You will find that 9 out of 10 times if you spend the money to really fix the problem in a quality fashion you will save money over the short and long haul. If you nickel-and-dime a job in order to spend less money, but don’t have the outcome that is desired, you will eventually spend a lot more money to try to find a solution. • Take EVERYTHING into account when reviewing your estimates. Price is a factor, but it should not be your main factor. You need to look at the quality of labor, the quality of materials, the guarantees, and your overall comfort level with the pro. Paying a contractor less money to do a poor job, with low quality materials, is going to cost you more (in dollars and agony) than hiring the QUALILTY professional. • If your job requires upfront payments, or payments at certain points in the job, make sure you get your payment schedule in writing. Read about our Contractor Payment Suggestions. • Check in on your contractor’s progress regularly…try to catch potential problems or misunderstandings before it is too late. • If the pro does a great job tell them you will recommend them on The Super 7. • If they don’t do a good job ask them to fix the issue or you will let other Raleigh-Durham residents know about their poor performance on The Super 7 website! This gives you POWER.
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