Hiring a Contractor- Advice from a Contractor

[Samuel Rogers]

Hello BPers!   I am a contractor and owner of a mid sized Residential Painting co. in San Diego, CA...   We have a very successful company and here is why...  I built this business on ONE idea- Do and be the opposite of stereotypical contractors...   

I get very frustrated with all of the horror stories people share about their contractors.  This may not be the case with most of you who have had terrible situations, but what I have found is often people hire the lowest or one of the lowest bids for their project in hopes to maximize profits at the end of the deal...    One question to all of you who have done this... How did that work out for you???   

If a contractor is cheap, available right away, looks dirty, smells dirty, drives a piece of crap truck, smells like cigs and beer...   "Heres your sign"---

If your contractor is not able to provide you with a professional estimate, professional contracts, etc., keep looking.  

-Ask for references, do your due diligence and call those references and maybe even take the time to go and see one of these "so called references" and the actual house he/she has done the work on...

Lastly- look this contractor in the eye-  ask tough questions- ask them about projects that have been difficult, homeowners that have been a pain to deal with and how he/she handled a project where they lost money...   If they say these things have not happened, keep looking because they are a liar.

Even if you do ALL of these things, you may still have a hard time with any contractor because we are also trying to turn profit.  This is why its USUALLY a better experience for all parties involved to go with the Professional who charges more...If the whole project goes on time and according to plan; guess what?  the contractor made money, will stay in business and want to work for you on your next project AND you got what you paid for. A job well done...

Most of contractor problems boil down to ONE thing-  Homeowners trying to cut financial corners who hire contractors who are cheap who then cut corners on projects...

Hire a PRO if you want to be a PRO

Buy Once, Cry Once and Reap the rewards FOREVER...