Contractors: Key Issues To Consider When Hiring A General Contractor

Hiring contractors or handymen is a regular task that happen everyday by countless people. Investors, Realtors, Brokers, you name it, we are always hiring contractors to do something to our houses. It could be something as simple as routine maintenance all the way to a full gut job renovation. A good contractor or handyman is truly a blessing so do thank them when you have one! In dealing with jobs of any scale whether large or small, we’ve noticed some key things to keep in mind whenever hiring a contractor that’s going to manage an entire project or just d a simple handyman task.

Here are some of the things we’ve learned that you’ll want to consider:

• Licensing – it is no doubt that hiring a licensed person gives you a peace of mind that you otherwise don’t have. However, do not make the mistake of assuming that because someone is licensed that this is a good thing. Many licensed people out there are not going be the people you want to hire. They’re not going be a great fit for countless reasons, one of which we will address shortly. So while it’s good to have someone that is licensed, keep in mind that a lot of tasks are simple enough to where having someone that is not licensed will be sufficient. I know, I know I just said you should have somebody licensed. And that is the best case scenario but lets face it some task are simple enough that it sometimes isn’t worth the effort. Take for instance installing carpet. There’s tons of people that can install carpet. And the reality is to have a licensed contractor to install carpet is not really necessary. If you get someone licensed to install it, you going to pay more and its still just carpet on the floor. This is something many handymen can do with no problem. However, in the grand scheme of things, licensing is a good thing to have whenever possible. Just use it wisely otherwise you are paying a lot for that contractors license with little return on your money.
• The ability to pull permits. I am amazed how many times I meet a contractors that was licensed but is not familiar and or comfortable with the process of pulling permits. Overcomeable yes but not a warm fuzzy builder. You would think that this is a given but I assure you it is not. I’ve run into more than a couple of contractors whether general or specific trade guys that had trouble with pulling permits due to lack of familiarity. We’ve learned this is a key piece of whatever job you may be hiring them to do so make sure they can explain the process to you in the county the project is in (or city if applicable). They might know the general process but if they don’t know it in your county that can work against you in terms of time, money, energy and effort spent. There is something to be said for hiring contractors in the vicinity of the project that has a lot of weight behind it. Sometimes it is not best if they will go anywhere to do the job!
• Funding – there is no shortage of horror stories about contractors that want to be paid the minute they’re done with the job. If you go even a few hours after the contractor is done they’re calling your phone ten times, leaving you voicemails sometimes even getting nasty because they are demanding payment. This is not a pleasant scenario for anyone to have to work with including the contractor themselves. Especially when the client has not seen the finished project yet and even worse, is not satisfied when he does see it. In general, what I would say is if at all possible work with contractors that are already funded. You want to know that the person you are hiring is not dependent on your check for them finishing the job just to pay their next bill. That really creates a stressful situation for everybody involved. No matter how talented they are, I would definitely advise against putting yourself in that scenario. It is a problem waiting to happen. While they do have to pay payroll if it’s a larger job or just take care of their ends, you want to know that the people you’re working with have at least a gap to handle a few days work. The reality is if they finish the job early and you’re counting on your check for Friday to come in to pay for it well, they might have to wait a couple days. Not to mention that you usually want to inspect something and usually the best time to inspect is not 5 seconds after they’re done pressuring you for a check. Ideal scenario? Try to get them to bill you at least fourteen days out preferably thirty. Many good ones will have no trouble doing that because they are funded and have processes in place. It just becomes another bill at that point which is much less stressful. And as long as you make good on your part it works like a charm!
• Communication – this one is the granddaddy of maybe not just contractor issues but probably any issue that’s ever occurred when a breakdown occurs. A wise man who I used to work, twenty plus years my elder said to me once, “Frank, it’s always a communication problem”. Several years later, I look at all my experiences and I have to say that in most situations it seems to be spot on! Contractors are no different; you’ve got to make NO ASSUMPTIONS when working with contractors. Even with contractors that are absolutely excellent at what they do, we’ve run into issues with communication. Now granted the better they are, the smaller these issues tend to be because you’re hammering out what need to be hammered out in advance which is highly advisable. The minute something is even slightly out of whack, you’ve gotta jump on that, right there and then. Do not give that any potential situation the opportunity to fester. Problems can arise very quickly and it’s amazing how quickly a small problem can escalate to a big problem. Stay on top of your contractor’s communication, even document as we have done with some of our contracts the expected amount of communication and the expected response time. These kinds of things can go a long way to making sure that makes everybody in check and keeps everybody much, much happier.

There are several other issues that can be discussed however these are four key areas where a lot of people seem to keep running into issues. Giving some thought to these particular scenarios can save you a whole lot of time, trouble and effort in the grand scheme of your project; especially if it is of the moderate scope or larger. So exercise good judgment consider these points and I wish you the best of success in your next project working with contractors!