FAQs
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Always ask for a potential contractors: License certificate, insurance certificate and references. Now, check them out and confirm that their license and insurance are up to date. First, if a contractor is licensed in Maryland, they contribute to a "Recovery" fund. The recovery fund was created to re-imburse homeowners that are unable to recover losses due to shabby or incomplete work. Unfortunately, many great craftsmen are not so good businessmen, and vis-versa. A contractor that gives you the best price may not be paying his insurance, material bills or taxes. If he goes out of business tomorrow, a lien could be filed against your home to pay for the materials used to build your home project. Second, remodeling is a very dangerous line of work. People are injured regularly. When a contractor has insurance and someone is injured, his coverage would step in and take care of the injured's medical expenses etc. If your contractor doesn't have insurance, then the liability would fall on your homeowners policy. That's right, you as the owner could become liable for construction accidents and someones medical expenses, loss of wages etc. Last, take the time to ask around about the person you want to hire. Ask past clients about the things that are important to you. Is punctuality, communication, scheduling, cleanliness, craftsmanship important to you? Ask more than one person. Ask until you find someone that is unhappy with your contractor to see just how bad it can be. Everyone has challenges in this business, how does your contractor handle the everyday problems that come up? Quickly! Slowly... Do they call you right away, or stick their head in the sand? So, do a little homework before you begin and you can minimize headaches down the road. Robert