Consumer Considerations–

Home Improvement 101 — Choosing a Contractor

By Jerry Farrell, Jr

I once overheard a contractor telling his young crew, “measure twice, cut once.” Like most things in life, if you’re careful with the up-front work, you usually get a pretty good outcome with no ugly surprises.

This is true when hiring a home improvement contractor as well. It may take a little extra time to thoroughly research the job, but the rewards are likely to be a lot less stress and a project finished on time, within budget, and to your satisfaction.

A home improvement contractor is anyone who performs improvements on residential property, when the individual job exceeds $200 and when the net profit of all work performed in one year is more than $1,000. Just about everyone who does home improvement work falls in this category, and by law, they must be registered with the Department of Consumer Protection. That includes roofers, remodeling contractors, driveway pavers, and persons who install fences, window treatments, siding, insulation, windows, masonry, and underground fuel storage tanks, to name just a few.

Hiring a contractor who is appropriately registered is your strongest protection against financial damage or loss, as a result of a home improvement job gone wrong. There is a state Home Improvement Guaranty Fund that can provide victimized consumers up to $15,000 in financial restitution per contract, but only on jobs done by a registered contractor. There’s no good reason for an honest contractor not to be registered, and no reason to work with someone who skirts the laws of their trade. Why let a scofflaw work on your home, your most valuable possession?

Before choosing a contractor, you need to decide exactly what you want done. Gather photos of your ideas from magazines and brochures or friends’ homes. You will better explain your ideas if you can also show them.

Satisfied customers can lead you to the right contractor. Talk to friends who have had remodeling work done; take a drive around your area and see if there is work being done; ask around town. You may ask your local building officials for names to call.

Get more than one estimate, especially on big jobs. If bids differ by a wide margin, be skeptical; get more bids. A low bid is not necessarily a bargain, so resist the temptation to choose a contractor based solely on a low bid.

Also take a good look at contractors’ recent and past jobs. Some people even check potential contractors’ litigation history to see if they’ve been sued by former clients. Ask each contractor about his or her current and projected workload. Can they truly start and finish in your timeframe? You want to be able to speak openly with the contractor and feel that he or she is taking the time to listen to what you want.

During your discussions, if a contractor offers to finance your home improvement project or put you in touch with a finance company, be very careful. If you consider this offer, have your attorney or some other knowledgeable person review the finance agreement before you sign, and verify that the agreement complies with the State and Federal Truth-in-Lending Act. There have been cases where consumers thought they were entering into a retail installment agreement, only to discover they had placed a second mortgage on their homes!

Before making your final choice, visit our website at www.ct.gov/dcp to verify that the contractor and/or his salesperson is correctly registered with the Department of Consumer Protection, and call us at 800-842-2649 to learn if we have any complaints against the contractor. Ask for three or more references from former customers and contact them. Visit current job sites, if possible. You may also wish to check with the Better Business Bureau.

When you discuss your job contract with your new contractor, ask for a payment schedule that corresponds to the progress of the work and make this part of the written contract. You should plan on paying on third up front, one third toward the middle of the project, and one third at the very end when everything is finished to your satisfaction. If a contractor asks for all the money up front, or wants a very large down payment, it may signal he’s in financial trouble or worse. This is not someone you want to sign with.

For more information about home improvement, choosing a contractor, overseeing a project, or to learn about the Home Improvement Guaranty Fund, visit our website at www.ct.gov and click “Home Improvement,” or call 860-713-6110 or 800-842-2649 with specific questions or concerns.

This column was provided to The Newtown Bee from Jerry Farrell, Jr, Connecticut’s Commissioner of Consumer Protection. Commissioner Farrell is an attorney with 15 years experience. Important information about consumer affairs can be found on the Department’s website, www.ct.gov/dcp.