Checking Who You Are Hiring: 3 Tips to Vet Your Contractor 

Getting some work done on the house is ideal, but sometimes you have to hire someone to get the job done right. But spending so much money to get the supplies and the workmen in and having to give up part of your home or building to then find that the work is bad or worse, not done at all, is nothing short of a nightmare.

How can you stop this from happening? Here are three tips for vetting your contractors.

1. Credentials and Background Checks

Let’s start with a big one that you should do right out the gate. While shopping around for people to do the job, check out what they are qualified to do and perhaps do a background check to be extra sure. If you want to check everything in one go, sites like scoutlogicscreening.com offer things like comprehensive background checks for everything from driving violations to any criminal charges. It’s a safe and secure way to ensure that who you are hiring is who they say they are.

2. Licensing

Another one to do right away is check they have licensure for the work you need. It also follows on from double-checking credentials.  Depending on where you are in the country, each state has different required licenses for a company to perform building and maintenance work. These licenses protect you and the company in the event something goes wrong while work is underway. Unlicensed contractors put you at high risk. They won’t be paying to protect their work, and worse still, their workers. It means if someone gets hurt or the work is incorrect, you are liable for the damages. Never be afraid to ask each company about their licensure. You can cross-reference it with your state’s requirements. If they don’t have the correct licenses, you can move on and find someone who does.

3. Reviews

This one requires a certain level of skepticism and careful analysis, but you can use reviews to guide your decision-making. Check sites like Yelp and the company’s site to see what people have written about them. Also, check how they have reacted to bad reviews and criticism. It can give you a good indication of the care and concern the business has for its clients. If the people you plan to hire have exclusively good reviews, maybe question the legitimacy of it all. If a company is honest, it shouldn’t be afraid of negative feedback and learning from past mistakes.

Of course, they may only advertise the good stuff on their site. But on other review sites, if you can’t track down a single slightly negative point, they may be too good to be true. You can ask around too to see who friends and family might recommend. Word of mouth and first-hand experiences are reliable ways to gain some insight.

To Conclude

Hire someone you can genuinely trust who will get the job done right and always make a contract. Please do some research and ensure that they are as good as they claim to be.