Hire a remodeling pro and still save money...
Posted by Mike Bruno on Tue, Oct 20, 2009 @ 06:30 PM
Today consumers are faced with difficult choices regarding finding money for remodeling projects. Banks are not lending as freely as they once did, bonuses and raises are scarce and credit card fees are higher then ever.
This combination potentially creates a perfect storm for project disasters. Contractors are forced to lower the prices of their bids to win projects, non-insured contractors compete for those same projects, and even worse non-industry professionals get into the market place looking for work and will do anything to make a buck.
To the consumer this creates a very dangerous and challenging situation. If contractor A (who is insured, a professional with years of experience ) bids $10,000, the non-insured contractor bids $8,000 and the non-industry, non-pro ( who wants to make a buck) person bids $3000 how does the customer make a choice? All three people look nice, seemed trustworthy and promised they could do the project. When money is tight some consumers will select one of the two lowest bidders and this is when disaster strikes.
Not only is it against the law in many states for non-licensed, non-insured contractors to perform work , some will take deposits and never start the project, some will never finish, the workmanship will be inferior and if something goes wrong down the road who will you call if the company is not around?
So how can consumers hire a professional and still save money?
- The client can self perform some of the work
- The client can perform some of the admin duties like permit submittal
- The client can shop around for cost effective material alternatives
- The project scope can be changed to fit a realistic budget
- Friends, family or neighbors can pitch in with demolition and painting etc...
- Suggestion: be honest with a reputable contractor and work together to achieve a win win situation.
The most important thing to consider when planning a large remodeling project such as an addition, kitchen remodel, bath remodel etc is to understand the risks involved when choosing to not hire a reputable, insured and qualified contractor to do the work.