The electrician gave me a quote for a complete re-wire of the house, and the foundation guy gave me a leveling quote.Mistake #9: Not getting bids from multiple contractors I didn’t get multiple bids for the handyman, leveling, roofing, and electrical contractors.I did, however, shop around for HVAC and granite installation and for materials.What I Learned: Always shop around.Work began July 5th and all was going relatively smoothly.I decided to stick with the current wiring to save costs, but eventually the electrician said he didn’t feel comfortable leaving the current wiring in, and really suggested that I rewire the whole house, which I did.

TJ, we had to reschedule our house inspection twice during the option period: once due to seller emergency eye surgery; the second time due to the house had issues in power and it took electricians a couple of days to come out and fix the house before we can send an inspector there.

Electrician bids varied from $5,000-$15,00, so get several.

.), 2) already had contractors -- electrician, plumber, handyman, etc., that knew me and were ok with going there, doing work, billing me afterwards, and 3) had a long-term tenant who worked with me for scheduling appointments when needed. 

My brother in law owns a commercial electrician business. 

I've had a few electricians look at the damage, and tell me over the phone that the reason for the damaged box is because ComEd when originally run wire underground to the home it did not leave enough "slack" and over the years with the home settling and the harsh winters the wire had pulled back from the home causing the box to be pulled along with it and cause the damage.

You need electrician, plumber, handyman, eviction lawyer etc...

Don't rent crap, that way you don't get many service calls.When you do get a service call, decide whether it's something you can do, or whether you need to arrange your handyman, your appliance repair guy, AC guy, plumber or electrician.

Electric is straight forward for the electricians but the plumbing options are not as flexible

I'm past the electrician stage now, so I'll keep this idea in mind for the future.