The thought of a remodeled home can be exciting. It can also be just a tiny bit daunting, especially if you’re hiring professionals. You naturally want to make sure you find a company that will do an excellent job, complete the project on time, clean up their mess, and just generally treat your home with respect. However, until you actually have remodelers in your home, it’s tough to feel confident about your hiring decision.
By doing your due diligence on the front end, however, you can alleviate your jitters and feel as comfortable as possible with your choice of remodeling company. Here are some specific questions you might ask to make sure you’re picking a trustworthy vendor.
10 Questions for Your Remodeling Company
- Is your company licensed and insured? Don’t assume, just because they have a professional website and a nice logo on their truck, that your remodelers are legit. Always ask them for their license number, and also verify that they’re covered with insurance protection.
- How long have you been in remodeling? It’s perfectly reasonable for you to seek a company with some real experience, at least five or six years. Be sure to ask specifically about remodeling experience, which is very different from new construction experience!
- How much of your business comes from referrals? A really good remodeling company will inspire great enthusiasm among their clients, which translates into both repeat business and lots of business referrals. You might specifically ask your remodeling company for some reviews/testimonials from past clients. (Also be sure to check out reviews on Google, Facebook, etc.)
- Can you show me some examples of your work? Hopefully, your remodelers have enough pride in what they do that they’ll be eager to show some pictures of recent projects. Obviously, they won’t have anything that exactly matches your home, but ideally, they can show off a similar kind of project, allowing you to assess the quality of their work.
- Who’s going to do the work? Will your remodeling company be providing you with salaried employees? Will they be subcontracting to other specialists? You have a right to know who’s going to be coming into your home to complete the project.
- How will we communicate? How often can you expect to hear from your remodeling contractor? Who will be your point person? How will updates or issues be conveyed to you? What number can you call or text if there’s a problem? Be very clear from the get-go about your communication expectations.
- Who will supervise the construction? Will there be a project manager to make sure things are progressing as intended, and that the standards of workmanship are held high? And how often will that person be on-site? All the time? At least once a day? Sporadically?
- What kind of warranties or guarantees are included? What kind of assurances or protections can the remodelers offer, either on materials and/or labor? Make sure you have a good sense of what’s covered, for what duration of time, and how it will all be laid out in your contract.
- What’s the timeline? It’s unreasonable to expect an exact end time from your remodeler, but they should at least provide you with a ballpark. Also, you should have clarity about how they will communicate to you when they go past their deadline. Finally, make sure you know how any blown deadlines will impact the cost of the project!
- How much will it cost? Again, you may get something more like a ballpark than an exact quote, but make sure you understand roughly what you’ll be paying and how it will be determined. Specifically, inquire about the cost of change orders, unexpected delays, etc. Make sure you know how all of this will be articulated in the contract you sign.
Get Your House Remodeled. Then, Get it Sold!
By asking these questions, you can ensure an informed decision about the remodeling company you hire.
Another way to make informed decisions about your home: Claim your free seller’s report from SOLD.com. In it, you’ll get personalized house selling tips and recommendations. Request your report whenever you decide it’s time to get the place sold!
