There are plenty of reasons to say ‘yes’ to a home renovation company. They might have been recommended to you by a friend or neighbor. Or you might have had a good rapport with the company from the first time you made contact. Maybe you researched the company and found a lot of great customer reviews where people came away happy with the renovation work that was done. You might also hire someone because their bid came in lower than the others, and you felt they represented a better value.
All of these are valid reasons for deciding to hire a contractor — although it deserves to be said that choosing the lowest bidder is not always the best strategy. It’s tempting to think you can have the same work done at a lower cost, but the reality is that in many cases, you won’t actually be having “the same work done.” Instead you’ll have work done that may be rushed, less skilled, and done with lower quality materials. Often times, when you see a price that’s too good to be true, what you’re actually looking at is a lower overall value for the money.
This brings us to an interesting question: When should you say “no” to a home renovation company? What are the red flags that indicate you’re probably better off working with someone else? Here are five reasons to say ‘no’ to a contractor.
1. Inexperience
It’s one thing if the company itself is new, but the people leading the company are highly experienced in home renovation. It’s quite another thing if the actual people performing and overseeing your renovation work are relatively new to this. You don’t want renovation crews making mistakes on your time. That’s why it’s so important to confirm the experience level of any contractor you’re thinking about hiring.
2. Lack of reviews
Reviews are such an important part of confirming whether a company has done successful work for people in the past. When you read about the experiences of happy clients on sites like Yelp, Google, Facebook or other social review platforms, you have direct evidence that your experience will end up being a good one too. When you find a company that’s been around awhile but doesn’t have any reviews — or even worse, has a majority of neutral or negative reviews — you can probably do better.
3. No physical business address
We can’t say there are no good contractors who don’t have a physical business address, but as a general rule, the most professional outfits have an actual office and at least one person whose job is to handle calls and schedule appointments. This demonstrates a professional attitude toward all aspects of home renovation.
Other reasons to say ‘no’
There are other reasons to back away from a given contractor as well. High pressure sales tactics, ineffective communication, or unclear pricing structures are all signs that you should set your sights on more professional contractors. It might take a little extra effort to find the best renovation outfit in your area, but when you see the final result, it will definitely be worth it.