Choosing a Contractor & FAQs
I’m sure you’ve all heard the stories of someone you know (or even yourself) getting ripped off by a contractor. Whether they’re working inside or outside your home, contractors and other manual services have gotten a bad rap. I’d love to say it wasn’t well deserved, but there are so many individuals out there selling services that they have no clue how to perform or worse, they do but they cut corners to save on costs. It gives the rest of us, who run our businesses like a business and want to treat our customers right, a difficult task.
As a General Contractor who runs an honest business, I see and hear a lot of bad work and stories of past hires. I also get asked a lot of relevant questions such as: why are your prices higher than “so-and-so”, why do parts cost this much, why do I need to put 50% down… etc.
Here are the answers to those questions and others. I will also go over the top five ways you can stay away from bad contractors. Hopefully, you’ll find this helpful! And leave a comment if you have any questions!
Why are your prices higher than XYZ? The easy answer: because I’m a legitimate business and businesses need to make money. Your job needs to cover all of my labor costs, my parts, and my administration fees. This includes the license and bond that provide both you and me coverage if an issue arises. It covers administration such as invoicing systems, credit card processing, bookkeeping services, taxes, customer service, drawings, estimates, and the time to do it all. Sure, you see me doing work at your home but that’s only 50% of the service I provide. To be reputable and customer-focused, I need to charge for those services. The old adage, “you get what you pay for” is true.
Why don’t you give a discount for cash? Cash, card, or check, it’s all money. Cash is actually more of a burden because all of a sudden I need to account for that at my bank. Where if you used my online processing system, I would get the funds immediately with zero work, now I need to actually go to the bank and fill out any necessary paperwork. Because I am a business who pays their taxes and runs as on the books as possible, cash provides zero incentive. The bigger question you should ask yourself is why someone would want cash…
I’ve seen parts for less than this. This is a statement, but it always calls for an answer. Sure, you can drive to the store, pick up the items, or have them delivered, but you’re paying to drive there or have them delivered. You also may have no idea what you’re looking for. I research these parts. I ensure they’re going to be right for the job and that they’re quality parts. I don’t make the parts, so there’s always a chance I’m wrong, but the time I put in to make sure I’m doing right by my customers, that’s part of the value. I also need to make sure I'm buying the parts that work with my tools and that I have the tools to do the job! My tools and equipment take wear and tear for every job I do and if you included all the tools needed for the project, I bet you'd find that my materials costs are less. Parts are more than the cost on a tag. It’s all the knowledge and legwork needed to get those parts where they need to be.
Why do I need to pay anything upfront? Why is it 50%*? Now, this is a policy special to my company. Technically, you don’t have to put anything down. There are plenty of companies that require less or nothing to do the work. And, I hate to say it, a lot of those companies won’t make it through their first year. For as notorious as bad contractors are, homeowners who refuse to pay are just as known. I’ve been in this industry for 15+ years and I’ve had people not pay me and I’ve worked at places that refused to pay. Sometimes it’s one person’s fault, other times it’s another person’s fault. For my business, I’ve decided to mitigate this as much as I can for both parties. I know that my practices are up to par. I will do my best to do what’s right. So, I require half down on most projects, which usually is just the price of parts — labor is due upon completion. It’s also a way for me to know you’re serious about this project. It takes a lot of time to come up with bids and to put together contracts and show up at your home to work. I see it as we both have the burden of proof to bear. I won’t go under because you don’t like the work and you hold my labor money until the job is complete. We both have something to lose if we don’t do what’s right. We’re equals at the table.
*Some projects have progressive-based pricing changing the amount down depending on size.
This contract has a lot of legalese. Another statement, but one I find important. The contract protects us both. If I don’t hold up my end, you have something to fight and vice-versa. I have a contract (and addendum) that are electronically signed so we both can be held accountable. I want to protect my customers just as I want to be protected. Without a solid contract, everyone is at risk. You’re home and your property is expensive and special. My business and reputation are valuable to me. I want to protect it all. A good contract does just that.
Can we remove pieces of the bid to lower the cost? The very short answer most of the time is no. The reason? I’ve put the bid together based on all the things I know I need to do to make the project right. There are certain tools, laborers, parts, and steps I need to perform for both of us to be happy with my work. If we remove any of those pieces? That means I have to cut corners or the job will not be complete when I leave. You may think now that you want to do the clean-up yourself, but the truth is if I leave the area without those extra hours put in? You’re going to be upset and ultimately blame me for not completing the job. I cannot put my name and my business on something that looks poorly done.
Now, the top five red flags when choosing a contractor:
They do not have a license, bond or insurance. Just a note, this is required by law to be a general contractor in Washington state. An easy way to know is if their license number isn’t anywhere — not on their business card, website, truck, etc. Washington State law says that a general contractor’s license number has to appear on all marketing materials, including vehicles if used for marketing. If you ask for information on any of these and they cannot provide it, run. Here’s the link for regulations on general contractors in Washington State: General Contractors are also required to provide a disclosure statement produced by LNI that lists their bond information. Personally, I send this with all of my contracts. If you don’t see it, that’s a good sign something is off. Here’s the link of the disclosure form: https://lni.wa.gov/forms-publications/F625-030-000.pdf
They ask for cash or for the entire bill to be paid upfront. While some contractors do require a down payment, most will never require the entire bill be paid upfront. This allows them to push off work, complete work without fulfilling their obligations to a satisfactory condition or never show up. There are plenty of horror stories of contractors making off with payment before completing any work. Especially if it was paid for in cash. Cash makes it easy to avoid taxes and even to not have an actual business to begin with. You have to ask yourself why someone would want cash over any other payment method. The only time this may possibly be allowable is if you have an iron-clad contract in place. If so, make sure to have a lawyer look over it before you pay the entire bill upfront.
They don’t have a contract. Anytime you’re having work done on your home, you should have a contract. The contract protects both you and the person you’re hiring. It lets you know exactly what to expect and gives you both standards to work with during your project. If you do not have a contract before work begins, it easily can become a “he said, she said” scenario. Anyone can say anything was promised (or not) and there’s nothing to go off of. Additionally, if the scope of work changes (whether something gets added or changed) you should be signing an addendum to the original contract. Again, this protects you both so that when the bill comes due at the end, both parties are happy with the results. You agree to pay and they agree to do the work laid out. Win-win.
They don’t have a standard. It is very common for a customer to get a bill and ask if anything can be done. They will try to bargain or ask if they can do work to bring the price down and we get that fixes on your home can be expensive. But you called an expert for a reason — you want things done right. If a contractor is willing to remove massive amounts of work to fit a price you think is fair, I would rethink your strategy. Lowering a bill doesn’t have the effect you think it will, making the completion of a job less than satisfying. You’ll never be happy if you have to clean up, tear down or have a half-done job. Sometimes, the price is the price because it is the only way to do the work right. To make sure you are getting quality items and labor. To allow both of us to be happy when the job is complete. If a contractor doesn’t have a standard and settles for work that isn’t complete or he knows will be a poor fix, that tells me he doesn’t really care about the quality of work he provides. The old adage “you get what you pay for” has never been truer than when you’re getting work done on the most expensive asset you own. Everyone involved should know and appreciate this.
You have trouble getting ahold of them. Whenever you hire someone to work with you, communication is key. You want to be able to trust that they’re going to be and do what they say they will. So if a contractor is ghosting you? Run. If you have to repeatedly call/text/email them to get updates or to find out what’s going on, that’s a red flag. It’s true that many contractors are out in the field a lot. They are doing labor or managing and cannot always pick up the phone — especially when they are just getting started. But you should expect some form of communication within 24 business hours of reaching out. For any project, especially the big ones, you do not want to be tracking down your contractor at every turn. If they don’t respond to you in the beginning, don’t assume it’s going to get better. Move on and find someone who values your time as much as you do theirs.
So here is the basic rundown. Please leave any questions in the comments and I will look to answer them in coming posts.