Before taking on renovations, whether for your primary residence or an investment property you’re flipping, it's crucial to find the right contractor.
The first thing you want to look into is a contractor’s reputation. Do you know anyone who has hired them? What did they say about their work? Their reliability? Their communication? Their value? Their punctuality? The more details you can get about their experience, the better.
Having a friend or family member who can vouch for a contractor they have personally used is amazing, but that’s not enough—you should also look to see what other people say about the contractor. Check their reviews. Look on their Facebook page, Yelp, Angie’s List, and Google Business to find out what their clients are saying about them. You’ll quickly be able to spot trends among reviews.
Once you have some confidence in their skills and competence based on your investigation, it’s time to get on the phone and start interviewing.
Before getting out there and conducting interviews, let me alleviate your anxiety—a good contractor understands how important your property and project are and knows that you will have lots of questions. If they won’t answer your questions, they are not your contractor. Run!
If they don’t show up for your appointment or interview, do not give them a second chance. If they are 30 minutes late, they had better have a good reason. If it’s acceptable to them to be late or not show up before you hire them, you can bet that this behavior will remain consistent or even get worse after you hire them.
When you meet a contractor, take note of their appearance and, if possible, the state of their vehicle. This can say a lot about a person’s organization and attention to detail. If there are fast food bags, empty water bottles, paperwork, and trash scattered everywhere, you can bet that this is how your house is going to look if you choose to work with them.
Related: How to Find (& Keep!) Good Contractors
It’s nice to know about a contractor’s family, their priorities, and what they like to do. Only spend a few minutes doing this though, as you want to be respectful of their time, and good contractors are typically very busy. Once you’ve broken the ice, get right into the questions.
1. How many people work for your company and how is your company structured?
This will tell you how large their organization is, which can be a good indication of how long they’ve been around and how established they are.
It can also tell you what type of support they have. Having administrative personnel who help manage project schedules and billing, assistant managers, and other support will likely make it easier for you to get in touch with the company when you need to, without having to worry about an individual being a single point of contact.
2. Who will be doing the work? Are you sub-contracting anything out, or will your team be able to cover the entire project?
Ideally, the contractor can do the entire project with just their own team, whether for a residential property or a commercial real estate property. This allows the general contractor to have more control over the timeline and the budget.
If they have to sub-contract specific parts of the project out, they cannot control, for example, this plumber or that painter’s schedule. Regardless, you need to make sure that each person conducting work is trained, licensed, if applicable, and insured.
3. Are you insured?
This includes General Liability and Worker’s Compensation. There is only one right answer to this question. If they say yes, ask to see a copy of their policy.
4. Has your company ever been sued? Has anyone filed a lawsuit against you?
A “yes” answer is not an immediate reason to cut off the interview then and there, but you’ll want to dig a little deeper to find out what the suit was about, how it turned out, and how this contractor handled or responded to it.
5. Has your company ever had a serious accident that caused injuries or hospitalization?
Again, it is okay if the answer is yes—accidents happen. What’s important is how the contractor dealt with the situation and what they are continuing to do to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
6. Have you ever sued a client or filed a mechanics lien against a property?
Still not a show stopper, but you need to figure out the details. At the very least it will give you an indication of their transparency and character. If you feel that they aren’t being honest about this or previous lawsuits, check the public record.
7. Will you agree to sign lien releases before I pay you?
This answer needs to be “Yes.” If your contractor does not want to sign a lien release to be paid, for any reason at all, their intentions are probably not what they should be.
8. Have you ever declared bankruptcy or operated a company under a different name?
If they say yes, you will need to do a little more research to ensure they are not going to go bankrupt again. You also need to check on the other company as there is probably a reason that company is not still in operation.
In doing this research and conducting interviews, it is not enough that they “pass the test.” You need to think hard about two things: Are they a good person? And can you work with them? Once you get the above out of the way and have a good idea of the contractor’s reputation and experience, you can start to figure out scheduling, timelines, communication, and organizational structure.
9. Who can you go to when the project is way behind schedule?
This is where your contractor lets you know how you can hold them accountable
10. Who will be at my house and when?
You need to ensure that no one is allowed access to your house if they have not had their background checked by the company. Additionally, you want to ensure that there are only contractors working when you give them express permission and within the boundaries that you lay out.
11. What will our contract look like?
A lot of contractors don’t even use contracts (believe it or not!), so it’s important to have this conversation now. I always draft the contract I use and ensure that everyone signs before work begins or any money is exchanged. Not every contractor will be OK with this, but I highly encourage you to have a lawyer review any contract before you sign it. If it is written by your contractor, it is to protect them, but not necessarily you.
12. How and when do you like to be paid?
If you do not know this contractor, do not give them a large sum of money up front! Twenty-five or 50 percent is not reasonable, no matter what they say. A good contractor has enough in reserve to cover expenses to get started, but occasionally will need money for some materials. If this is the case, you can order the materials and have them delivered directly to you. This way, you have what you paid for. If your contractor has a problem with that, they can purchase the materials on their own and you can pay once the work is done, or you can find another contractor.
This is not an all-encompassing list and you can ask plenty more questions, but this will get the conversation started. Ensuring that they are qualified, have the support they need, and have a good reputation will help you sleep better at night. Through all of this, hopefully you’ll have determined that you can work and communicate with this person.
If you’re about to take on a four-month renovation and deal with this individual regularly, it is critical that you can work well together. At the end of the day (or project), you want this contractor to have respected your property, been open and honest, treated you fairly, and completed the job within budget, on time, and to your personal standards.
