Finding The Contractor Of Your Dreams

We're well familiar with before and after reality Home Improvement shows where a designer or contractor and crew magically swoops in to save the day. But life does not exactly imitate art imitating life. A more realistic show might look a lot like the Bachelor, where a dozen "contestants" compete to make one person's other home life dreams a reality. Sometimes finding a contractor feels as much like dating because it's not a straight forward employer/employee relationship - this is the person who will be knee deep (and perhaps gutting and knocking holes) in your private life/abode.

The same contractor you thought was "the one" at the beginning of the relationship may end up acrimonious even before the job gets completed. Or perhaps, despite an impressive resume, you're not sure if the communication is quite there because personalities don't quite gel personality-wise even though you thought you'd be fine with hiring someone only based on how well the job gets done.

First let's start with where to look.

- Ask friends and neighbours
- Inquire at local building materials stores and/or utility companies about which contractors they use
- Call home equity lenders for referrals of builders projects they've given check marks to
- Property insurance agents
- Realtors, etc...
- Residential architects
- National association of home builders (NAHB) or Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA)

How to interview your prospective contractors

One of the most telling recommendations that I've ever read came from a highly satisfied client who wrote a long letter outlining how he immediately could tell by how the contractor he decided to go with was different from the other contractors he had interviewed.

"Of the other three contractors we interviewed, as we did the walk-through of the house and went over the drawings, two did not even take notes, and the third hardly took any notes. A lot of nodding the head, and "We've done this sort of thing before" and so on. And these were long-established contractors, active in our neighbourhood. B., on the other hand, took copious notes, and asked a lot of questions. The initial meeting ran over three hours with B., whereas the other three took less than an hour. Given the size of the project, we were surprised at the lackadaisical attitude of the other contractors.

The really glaring difference was when we received estimates from the four contractors. Of the four contractors, only B. M. provided a detailed estimate, breaking out costs for the major aspects of the project. The others provided ballpark estimates, and came back with a lot of "Well I didn't include that in the estimate." This is our fourth time renovating, and in the past we have found that at the half-completed point, contractors will typically come up with a list of costs not included in their original estimate that blow the original estimate out of the water. Our experience with B. was different, in that he showed a good grasp of the scope of the project in his estimate."

You may know that when it comes to finding a romantic prospect, you are looking for someone who likes to take long moonlit walks along the beach, but what hammer wielding prowess should you be looking out for in a contractor? It's not the time for subtle prodding, rather, clever interviewing. Perhaps you're more accustomed to being the interviewee, but this time you are the boss who is ultimately looking for the right person for the job. But what are the skills and personality traits you should be looking out for? With careful observation and an informed list of expectations, you should be able to determine if you've found the right contractor.

1. Problem solving abilities - you can't build a house, so you'll be depending on his/her expertise when unexpected things happen and statistically, they will. Pose some questions in the realm of asking for advice, to help determine how he/she thinks.

2. Honesty - this may seem obvious, but you can't always judge a book by its cover. Try the TV cop show trick and ask the same question, phrased in a different manner, three times and see if the answer stays the same.

3. Transparency - your renovation job may require very detailed work and the more you know the better. Make sure to ask questions that merit a full description rather than one-word answers to get an inkling of what information he will or won't leave out.

4. Learning from Mistakes - We all know that dreaded question that we hate to be asked in interviews: "Tell me about a conflict you've had and how you were able to resolve it." It's a difficult one, but one that's important to answer; is this the type of person who will be responsible for his/her own actions and can think on his/her feet?

5. References on both ends - Obviously, you're looking for high praise from former clients and ideally they will be happy enough to let you see the work that's been done on their homes, but what about the sub-trades who will actually be doing a majority of the work? Does the contractor have a good long standing relationship with his team? Is this the type of team leader who knows how to hire and work with skilled trades?

6. Background check - here's where a Google search isn't creepy spying but a great idea. Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if the contractor is a registered member of if any complaints have been made against him/her. In the US, contact the contractors state license board, the state attorney general's office, and the state department of insurance to cross out serious offences. In Canada, the contractor should have business liability insurance, Worker's Compensation Insurance, and a valid Business Number (GST/HST number in Ontario).

Unlike in dating where you might want to take things slow to get to know a person, in this relationship, you want to know every single thing possible up front because avoiding disappointment is paramount and it does matter if things don't work out. That being said, with the right questions and informed expectations, you can find the right match to build happily ever after.