Hiring a Home Improvement Contractor in Ohio and Michigan

It is not unusual for you to receive estimates on your home improvement project that vary in price substantially. Often we are asked, “How can this be? We thought all of the contractors we interviewed are of the same caliber and ability!” At this point in your decision-making process, it is prudent to clarify whether all of the one-day bathroom remodeling contractors you are considering are, indeed, equal.

Below are some guidelines our past customers have found useful in making this determination. Qualified contractors should not hesitate to provide answers to the questions below. The answers do not call for the contractor to divulge proprietary information. All requests for information should be time-phased. In other words, now is the time to see which contractor works well under timelines.

Questions to Ask a Contractor

Experience
Ask for three references of three projects that are very similar to yours. Contact these references and ask the following:

• Was the work done off a fixed-price contract or a cost-plus/time and material contract?
• How did the final price compare to the original estimate?
• Did the scope of the project change much once the job started?
• Could the project have been better planned up front to minimize changes along the way?
• Was the quality and service what you expected?
• Are the referenced projects in a similar neighborhood to yours with a similar project scope?

Scheduling

• Was the job scheduled from the start to the finish? If yes, how close were they to the finish scheduled date?
• Did any problems arise during the job and if so, how was it handled?

Contractor Qualifications

• How long has the home improvement contractor been in business? Is this important to you?
• Do you see any benefit to a contractor having some sort of history of projects and/or servicing projects during the warranty period?
• Is the contractor a member of any trade organizations or the Professional Remodelers Organization (PRO)?

How Well Will The Contractor Handle Your Money During The Project?
Most contractors ask for some money up front. For standard projects, Arnolds Home Improvement does not require any payment until you are 100% completely satisfied.

Quality contractors have good working relationships with suppliers and can purchase material on an open account with 30 days to pay. Supplier relationships should match the length of time in business to a certain extent. The following questions should help you check out your contractor’s credit worthiness:

• Where does the contractor bank? Who is the contractor’s bank officer? How long has the contractor banked there?
• Who are three suppliers the contractor buys from?
• How long have they been buying and do they buy on open account?

Written Contract

• What does the contract look like?
• Is the contractor all-inclusive?
• Does the contract list what is included as well as what is not included?
• How are disputes resolved?
• What is the payment schedule?

One single item will not make or break a contractor; however, by getting answers to all of the above questions, you should see a pattern develop. Are you comfortable with the pattern?

Feel free to ask us any of the above questions. We look forward to meeting and learning more about you and your home improvement project. Thousands of satisfied clients before you have been happy they went the Arnolds Home Improvement way.

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