The homeowner asked the contractor to fix the problem. The contractor said it will cost  more money to fix it because the homeowner supplied a defective product.  The homeowner told the contractor that was not acceptable and an argument ensued. The contractor said if you paid me to supply the product I would have to fix it for free but since you (the homeowner) supplied it you are responsible to pay me to remove and reinstall it, replumb it and rewire it or you can have the wholesale supplier pay for the repairs.

The homeowner called the wholesale supplier who said it must be the contractor who broke it. Sounds like alot of finger pointing going on here.

If a homeowner wants to save money and supply products to be installed by a contractor most contractors will not warranty products they did not supply for the job. A contractor who supplies material and labor has to back them up for a one year period. The amount for carrying this risk is the small difference between the contractor price and the homeowner price. Usually the savings are only 10 to 20% of the cost of the unit.

If you are going to supply products to be installed by a contractor make sure you know the risks associated with supplying those products. Who will be responsible if the product is defective? Sometimes the savings you get buying wholesale may not be worth it if you receive a defective product. The cost to repair this item will be more than 10 times the savings the homeowner received buying the unit wholesale. Was it worth it?

Mark 

The larger more established remodeling contractor will usually have a place of business other than his home. They will rely on systems and best practices in the industry. Their people will be trained on how to deliver the remodeling service. Projects will be managed and systematically produced in a shorter amount of time than the smaller one man company. If something happens to a carpenter working on the job the established firm will have a backup in place. In the beginning it will appear that this contractor will cost more than the one man show. However, just think what happens to the homeowner who hires the small one man contractor who underbids the job, can’t finish it because he is hurt or ran out of money to run his business. 

One man contractors who are careful that they don’t take on too much work and are good at what they do can be a real bargain. The smaller contractor is usually a safe bet for smaller projects like handyman work, windows, decks, doors and painting.

Larger more established contractors usually have more resources for the larger remodeling projects like additions, kitchens, and large scale remodeling.

Whatever you do be sure to know the capability of your contractor so you don’t become a contractor nightmare story. You usually get what you pay for!!!  

Mark

Also in my 20 plus year career, I had the unfortunate experience of meeting many homeowners who were treated poorly by contractors. The poor treatment left homeowners with shoddy workmanship, unfinished projects, wrong materials, projects that had to be ripped out because they didn’t meet code, mechanics liens for unpaid material bills, messy work sites, lawsuits from uninsured workers and more.

In a former post, I mentioned that contractors are the most complained about industry in the country according to the Consumer Federation of America. Since 1999 the contracting industry has more complaints against it than used car salesman. Is it any wonder that homeowners are wary and scared when it comes time to hire a contractor to work on their most valuable investment, their home.

It has been one year since I gave seminars on How to Hire A Contractor at the DCU Worcester Spring Home Show. I presented this seminar with a panel of professionals from the Better Business Bureau, The Mass Attorney Generals Office, a consumer advocate and an attorney. It was apparent, that most people were concerned about hiring a contractor. Many contractor nightmare stories were brought up and discussions were held to find ways to protect the homeowner from these tragedies.

I have always wondered how can I help protect homeowners from having a bad experience with a contractor. Giving these seminars and providing homeowners with the tools to properly hire a contractor is a start. I have always thought wouldn’t it be good to offer training to the contractor?

So how can I help homeowners by coaching contractors?

In February of this year I decided it was time to start the Contractor Coaching Partnership. I spent the last 16 years working for a great contractor in the residential remodeling industry learning how to help homeowners have good experiences remodeling their homes.  We did kitchens, baths, additions and roofing. I believe the success we attained was due to the team we had and the committment to industry best practices. We were big on educating and training our people using systems based on industry best practices. I helped develop a company that last year was ranked in the top 150 companies in America. Thankfully, I will be able to use this great experience and training to coach contractors servicing the residential homeowner.

The cost of entry into the residential construction industry is low. There are many excellent craftsman in the business.

However, if you truly look into to the residential construction industry you will find that most residential contractors are not well versed in the subject of how to run a business.

I will be helping homeowners by coaching and training residential contractors on the subject of using systems and best practices to better serve their customer and employees.

I am going to use this blog as a forum for homeowners and contractors to discuss issues concerning the residential homeowner construction industry.

I welcome any and all comments from homeowners and contractors.

If you know a homeowner having issues with a contractor please let them know about this blog. If you know a contractor who is struggling please let them know about this blog.

A goal of this blog is to better the homeowner/contractor experience. Please spread the word.

Thank you

Mark Paskell

The Contractor Coaching Partnership

mark@thecontractorcoachingpartnership 

So what does this have to do with hiring a contractor?

Well just imagine that you hired this company and work was completed a few months ago. Then we have a rain storm and the roof leaks - destroying your ceilings. You call the company you hired only to learn that the feds just shut them down because they used illegal alien labor. Now they are out of business and you are up the creek without a paddle. Or worse you hire a company like this and a roofer gets hurt and the contractor has no worker’s compensation insurance and you get sued!

I have worked for legitimate “follow the rules” contractors my entire career and I have run into unethical contractors often. I run into to them when I am quoting residential projects to homeowners. They are usually half the price of the legitimate contractor. The companies I have worked for have always hired legal workers and provided the proper insurance and tools to do a professional job. In addition, the workers are always paid above the table, not under.

When homeowners hire companies who don’t play by the rules they usually get burnt when something goes wrong on the job. Unfortunately, there are too many contractor crooks who elect to hire illegal aliens. These contractors prey on these aliens and take advantage of them. They usually pay them under the table, don’t provide insurance, don’t pay taxes, do sub standard work, have unsafe equipment and aren’t there to service their work when something goes wrong. And of course, the homeowner blames the industry for allowing this to happen. According to the government, home improvement contractors are the most complained about industry in the entire country. Worse than used car salesman.

One of the biggest reason why homeowners hire these illegitamate contractors is low price. A famous British author named Ruskin once said “you get what you pay for”.

As far as immigration is concerned, I am all for it provided legal channels are followed. Everyone has the right to apply to come here legally. We are all descendants of legal immigrants in one way or another. America is a great melting pot.

As far as illegal immigration is concerned, I’ll leave that to the politicians. However this is a huge problem in the trades. Contractors who hire illegal aliens should be shut down. Legitimate law abiding contractors have to play by the rules. And playing by the rules costs money. When homeowners allow illegitimate contractors to do home improvements, they are supporting the black market construction industry just to save a buck!

So when you consider hiring a contractor ask him if he uses legal labor to perform his work. If he has legal immigrants ask him to verify that they are really legal. If he has a problem with verification then he is probably hiding something. And that may only be the tip of the iceberg!

Do you really want to take a chance with your most valuable investments - your family and your home - by allowing people who you don’t know to work on your property?

You decide!

In our seminars we discussed many powerful ideas that can help homeowners become knowledgeable in this area.
Three mandatory questions to ask your contractor:

1. Can I visit your place of business?
Successful contractors will be happy to show their potential customer their place of business. It shows that you are careful and prudent. Seeing a contractor’s office and shop will tell you how substantial the company is. Look for eqipment that will signify that the contractor is in the business full time. Is the shop neat and organized? Are the office staff and employees pleasant and professional? Does it look like a contractor who is experience in the doing the types of jobs that you need done?

2. Can I see proof or your insurance?
Hiring uninsured or under-insured contractors can expose you to thousands of dollars of risk. Do not take this matter lightly. Make sure you see the proof of liabilty and workmen’s compensation coverage. During our seminars some homeowners said they were given copies of car insurance coverage when they asked to see a policy. Some said they were shown policies with lapsed expiration dates and dates altered with whiteout. Contractor’s pay alot of money for insurance and are happy to provide you with verification that they have it. Professional contractors’ know that the majority of low bid contractors don’t carry the right insurance if they have any at all. This is by far the largest reason why some contractors are half the cost of professional companies. The action to take is call the agent who provided the policy to confirm its coverage and authenticty. You can also be named an additional insured on the Accord form. This will insure that you will be notified if a policy lapses for non payment. This subject will be discussed further in future posts.

3. Can I see a project similar to the one you are doing?
If you are doing a major remodel or addition you may not want a handyman. Ask to see projects similar to the one you are doing. A professional remodeler will be happy to help you confirm that he can handle your project by showing his work. You also will be able to guage the competence of the remodeler by talking to the homeowner.

There are many more questions to ask your potential remodeling contractor which I will share in coming posts. Remember the best protection from a bad contractor experience is self education.

Our goal was to help homeowners acquire the knowledge they need to qualify contractors before they are hired to perform home improvements. Feedback was very positive.

Our guests were extremely wary of making the wrong choice when hiring a contractor. Their main concern was how to avoid becoming the victim of the nightmare contractor. The guests asked many questions and appeared determined to educate themselves with the tools neccessary to prevent a bad contractor experience.

According to government statistics, available at the Consumer Federation of America website, home improvement contractors are the most complained about industry in the nation. They outrank automobile salesman, and credit and lending complaints. From 1999 to 2004 home improvement contractors had the top ranking for three of the five years.

The panel of experts included a representative from the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General’s Office, a consumer advocate and a litigation attorney. The homeowners asked questions about insurance, licensing, contractor registration, recourse, permitting, contracts and payment terms. The consistent nature of the questions gravitated around what can one do to avoid hiring the bad contractor.

A few suggestions from the panel of consumer advocates:

• The attorney stated that if he was brought in to represent a homeowner he may win the case but any award would soon be followed by bankruptcy of the contractor. His fee would be paid but more often than not there will be no funds available to pay the award to the homeowner. He suggested do your homework.
• The District Attorney stated there is only enough resources in their fund to prosecute 2-3% of the bad contractors discovered bilking homeowners. He suggested hire a registered and established firm.
• The Consumer Advocate volunteer said the only defense in avoiding a nightmare contractor experience is self education.
• The Better Business Bureau suggested check for complaints with public bureaus and obtain references.
• The consensus of the panel was that homeowners should do everything possible to check out their contractor by doing their homework. If you are the victim of an unscrupulous contractor, chances of recovering lost money is slim to none.

Allthough, there is no sure fire way to prevent bad contractor experiences, it makes sense that consumer education is the first line of defense for homeowners. In my next blog I will share tips on what questions a homeowner should ask when interviewing a contractor.

In former posts, I spoke about the fact that contractors have the worst reputation in the country of any industry. This news only cements the reputation of contractors providing poor service to homeowners. Who can you trust?

Large retail stores and lumber yards are quickly getting into the installed sales business. This dilemma presents a huge challenge for homeowners all across the country since retail stores don’t have the expertise and experience to work in the remodeling business. The remodeling business will do over 250 billion dollars in business this year. Since this is an attractive growth opportunity for home improvement retailers, I imagine we will see more complaints as retailers try to get a piece of the ‘remodeling business’ pie.

I predict that homeowners will be complaining in droves about the poor service and craftmanship from home improvements ordered through retail stores. I once heard from a wise old man that you can’t be everything to everybody. Maybe the retail giants should do what they do best, sell retail.

So now you see some remodel show on HGTV or an episode of This Old House and you come to the conclusion you need to improve your home. You want a larger more functional space to handle your family’s growing needs. So where do you start?

The Old Way: The Architect Approach
The old way to remodel was to hire an architect or designer to discuss your needs and come up with the concepts to meet them. Then they would draw your solutions and develop a scope of work resulting in a set of plans and specifications. Then you, the homeowner, would seek out contractors to price the plans and specifications. Often, the contractor pricing is over the budget set aside for the project. You question the contractor that his price is to high. The contractor asks did you tell the architect to design within a budget? The architect says I just drew what you wanted. Now you have plans that cost thousands of dollars and you can’t afford to build the project. So you don’t want to lose your investment and you look for more contractors until you find one who is closer to your budget and you hire him. You know in your gut that the higher priced guy was more professional but you succumb to the pressure of not losing your investment and you hope the lower priced guy will perform good enough. So you either hire the low price guy and pray or you throw away the plans and thousands of dollars.
This old process, still used by some today, often leads to finger pointing between the architect and the contractor. When proposed plans are put together without the constraints of the available budget it always leads to disputes between the designer and the contractor. You, the homeowne,r become the mediator and the guy in the middle who can’t win. In addition, the contractor has questions on the plans and aks for clarification from the architect and when an impasse develops, you become the facilitator.

The New Way: The DESIGN/BUILD PROCESS.
The design/build process joins the world of architecture and construction under one roof. This insures that one firm will be responsible for all facets of the project from concept to completion. A professional remodeling firm who has adopted this process knows that all projects must be designed to meet both the needs and budget of the client. The project must be designed to acceptable standards consistent with industry standards and current trends and styles that consumers are expecting. Also, the design must be consistent with the architecture of the existing home. A great remodel is one that looks like it was always there.

Remodeling projects require serious planning and many overlapping decisions between the designer and the contractor. There are so many choices in today’s world due to the availabilty of information on the internet and tv. The Design/Build process provides SINGLE SOURCE ACCOUNTIBILITY and insures that all aspects of architecture and construction are reviewed under one roof.

This process removes the homeowner as mediator or facilitator. A design/build firm must design within the budget parameters or they will never be allowed to build the project or receive referrals from you. The process is seamless and insures smooth transition from design to construction. The carpenter who works for the design/build firm will be familiar with the design because he works for the same company. There is no finger pointing. Experts familiar with the remodeling industry estimate that over 70% of all projects designed in America never get built! If you don’t want to be stuck with expensive architecture plans that never get built, you should find a contractor that follows the design/build process.