Greg Haines was anxious to start fixing up his big, 70-year-old Mediterranean-style home immediately after he bought it five years ago. The drafty doors and windows in the Altadena, Calif., residence were first on the agenda, so, he quickly started scanning newspaper and Yellow Pages advertisements for window companies and contractors.
Although Haines did some things right, he now recognizes he made a classic mistake: He moved too fast.
Before hiring a contractor, he called a few references and even went to visit a home where the contractor had put in windows. But Haines didn’t visit his city planning department. He didn’t understand the details of how the job should work. And he didn’t spend enough time getting educated. He now realizes that he didn’t ask the right questions–nor even ask for the right kind of references–as a result.
As his lawsuit against the contractor prepares to go to trial, and his house is threatened with condemnation unless he understands the meaning of the old adage: Act in haste, repent in leisure.
Haines’ story should serve as a lesson to the millions of homeowners who undertake some sort of remodeling project each year. While surveys indicate that the vast majority of homeowners are satisfied, roughly 10 percent of all remodeling projects go so seriously awry that they end up in court, industry experts maintain. Given that a major remodeling can cost a small fortune and dramatically affect the value of your home–for better or worse–it’s worth taking the time to do it right.
“When you remodel, you are altering your largest personal investment and you are exposing a stranger to your family,” says Susan Maney, director of marketing and publications for the National Association for the Remodeling Industry in Alexandria, Va. “You should be careful. The more information a homeowner can get, the better off he will be.”
What can you do to boost your chance of completing a successful remodeling?
– Get educated. There are numerous publications in both libraries and bookstores that go over everything from hiring a tradesman to acting as your own general contractor. There are also books about floor plans and architecture and kitchens and bathrooms and a host of other specific details that could aid consumers with both big and small projects.
City and county building and planning departments can also be a help. Often, particularly in smaller towns, city inspectors can sit down with consumers and talk about what types of permits might be required and things to expect with their type of project. Often, city planners are well-acquainted with local builders, too, so you may also get some tips on which contractors you should consider.
There are also plenty of good reference materials on what to expect from a contractor and some of the best information is actually free. For instance, NARI publishes a consumer magazine that they’ll provide free to homeowners. It has a list of questions every potential remodeler should ask their contractors and a list of warning signs that can indicate when your potential contractor is a dud.
Want one? Visit its Web site at www.nari.org or call 800-440-NARI.
– Hire carefully. Experts liken the process of choosing a contractor to choosing a doctor. It’s a matter of finding someone with both the professional and personal skills that meet your needs.
But consumers tend to hire by price, getting several bids and choosing the least expensive, says Paul Deffenbaugh, editor-in-chief of Remodeling Magazine. That’s often a big mistake.
First, it’s often difficult to make apples-to-apples comparisons. For instance, one contractor’s bid may be significantly higher than others because higher-grade materials were factored in; another may submit a low bid by leaving costly, yet pivotal, items out of the estimate. In this case, if you hire the lowest bidder, you’ll pay more, and worse, the costs will be unexpected.
Make sure you spend time chatting with any contractor you’re seriously considering. Ask lots of questions, including whether what you want can be done within your budget, or whether there are things you can do to alter your plans a bit to get the project back within what you can afford. Also ask what types of materials will be used.
“Price should not be the determining factor; the relationship should be,” says Maney. “Remember, this is the same person you are going to see every morning before you have your coffee and your shower, and whom you are going to see at the end of a long day.”
– Understand your rights. Consumers have a host of rights when dealing with contractors, Maney adds, including the right of rescission. That stipulates that if you sign a remodeling contract somewhere other than in the contractor’s place of business, including in your home, you have up to three days to change your mind and cancel.
If you do want to rescind, make sure you say so in writing, within the three-day period, and send the notice by certified mail, Federal Express or some other means where the contractor will sign on receipt.
– Know your responsibilities. Realize that if you pull permits or sign for materials on behalf of your contractor, you take on a big responsibility.
For example, let’s say someone wants to drop off the kitchen appliances, and you agree to sign for the shipment in your contractor’s absence. If the goods are damaged or the wrong things were delivered, you–not the contractor–are liable. Meanwhile, if you pull building permits, your city is likely to consider you the responsible party. If something goes wrong months later, you are on the hook.
Also realize that the contract you sign not only binds your contractor, it binds you. If your contractual payment schedule requires you to make payments at set intervals–each month, for example–but you don’t because the work hasn’t progressed, for example, you are in breach of contract. The contractor has the right to sue you.
Read the contract. Make sure you can live with its terms and conditions. If you want a payment schedule that’s based on specific performance (many require payments at the start or completion of specific jobs, such as framing or demolition) rather than time, ask for it.
