Scam Artists. Nobody likes a scam artist. The only problem is that you usually cannot identify a scam artist until after you have already been scammed. So, how do you avoid this costly mistake?
Well, when you are searching for an exterior house painting contractor there are a number of things that you can do in order to avoid being ripped off by one of these crooks.
The first thing that you will want to do is investigate. With everything being easily accessible online these days, you should not have to break a sweat in finding information on a prospective painter. So, my first recommendation is to research online. Review the contractor’s website, find reviews on the company, and ask around to your family and friends. Word of mouth reviews are often very reliable.
The next step that I would suggest taking is to ask the exterior house painting contractor for references. Once he provides these references be sure to contact all of them. You will need to investigate. W hen you speak with the references, you will need to ask a lot of questions. Don’t let the contractor off of the hook that easy. Remember that it is your hard earned money that you are spending. You have the right to make certain that you are spending it with the right candidate.
If you do these 2 things you will more than likely be matched with a quality exterior house painting contractor that will perform and execute quality work. If you fail to do the above listed suggestions, there is a great chance that you could hand your money to a scam artist.
By: Nicole Martello
Posts Tagged ‘Lot’
How to Find a Legitimate Exterior House Painting Contractor
March 10th, 2010Exterior Painting – Should You Do It On Your Own?
March 3rd, 2010
Exterior painting can really make your house look fresh and new. With all the special protective elements now used in paints and stains you can maintain this fresh look for years to come. Yet, when it comes to the actual painting of a home, are you better off doing it yourself or hiring someone else? Your decision should be based on three different things: time, budget, and experience with exterior painting.
Exterior painting takes a lot of time to finish – especially when you have a larger house or more complicated structure. If you’re looking to paint your home on your own, you will need to free up a lot of time in order to finish the task. And for most busy families, this just isn’t possible – even over a long weekend. What you may want to realize is that the time you spend painting your own home adds up to money that you could be spending on hiring someone else to do the ‘dirty’ work. The best rule of thumb? If you have the time, but not the money, do it yourself. If you have the money, but not the time, have someone else do it.
Exterior Painting
It’s no secret that exterior painting will cost a lot of money in terms of supplies and labor when you hire someone else to do it. However, when you do the painting yourself, you will have to buy the same supplies, though you are saving labor. Before you go out and buy the supplies you need, take some time to add up how much it will cost you and what it might cost a painting service to accomplish the task. Some painting services can actually get the supplies for cheaper prices, which then allows the hiring of their services to seem all the more feasible.
Lastly, when you’re considering exterior painting on your own, you will need to think about your own skills. If you want your home to look good, you will want to know what you are doing at each step of the process. Before you begin, you will want to take a class in exterior painting or read about the techniques you can use in order to make your home look better than it did before.
By: Gregg Hicks
10 Ways to Identify a Good Painting Contractor and Save Money
February 6th, 2010
Since starting my home improvement business 26 years ago, I can say I have heard some unique reasons for going with the cheaper price. However, I also get many calls from homeowners who regret their decision and realize they made a mistake. They tell me they wish they had paid a little more for quality service. Many wish they had done more research on their prospective contractor before deciding to use them.
What I have found through the years is that most homeowners do not know how to properly evaluate painting contractors before hiring them. Just because a contractor is cheaper doesn’t mean you’re getting your monies worth. When it comes to hiring contractors, cheaper priced services often end up costing you a lot more. With the high cost of labor and materials, profit margins aren’t that great in the painting industry. Real cheap services in the painting industry are cheap for a reason. Quality and value of services are being cut.
Better qualify your contractors with the following 10 conditions.
1. How long has the contractor been operating in your area. Instability is common in this industry? Some painting contractors work a few years in an area then start to feel the heat from dissatisfied customers, so they move on to another city and start the whole process over again. If a contractor has been working in an area for 10 or more years, generally it is an indication of stability.
2. Does the Contractor pay his help by the hour or on a percentage basis? When I started my business in 1982, I paid my painters by the hour. After about 7 years of paying by the hour and being dissatisfied with their performance, I decided to switch to paying on a percentage basis. I found that the quality of work went up dramatically and the projects were completed in half the time. The painters had an improved mindset when being paid on a percentage basis. The painters also have a special interest in the quality and timeliness of their work. Better performance means a smaller punch list at the end of the job and in less time, resulting in better pay. Be sure and ask the contractor this question. This is merely a suggestion. Obviously, there are some painters that work by the hour that have a good work ethic. Due to this success I will never pay my painters by the hour again. I have been able to provide a higher quality service overall since paying on a percentage basis.
3. Does the Contractor present a well written and organized contract to sign that outlines what he is going to do? This is a good indication of how organized he is. If he is well organized, in most cases it will carry over to his crews. Well organize people are very uncomfortable with disorganization and generally will work to maintain well organized projects and crews.
4. Does the contractor ask for a deposit up front? Although the size of a project may dictate whether a deposit is appropriate or not, for the average size painting and repair project (3,000 to 8,000) I strongly recommend not paying a deposit. The ability of the painting contractor to finance the project is an indication of financial stability and more importantly his desire to operate at peak performance making sure you are happy. I have heard many stories through the years of homeowners who have given the deposit only to have the contractor leave after a day or two of work never to be seen again.
5. How well has the contractor communicated with you since the first time you contacted him? Is he quick to respond to your questions and concerns? Communication is very important to most quality professional contractors. This is another indication of the core values, by which he operates. During your project, you will definitely want good communication.
6. Are the painters working for the contractor covered by workmans comp? Be sure of this because many painters say they have liability insurance, but liability insurance is not the same thing as workmen comp and will not cover the painters if they are injured on the job. Another consideration is how well the contractor has insured his crews against injury. Some contractors pay their crews under the table and there is no history that the insurance companies can verify. They may not cover the crews in such cases. This can put you at considerable financial risk. This is another indication of the core values that govern the contractors performance. Contact his insurance company and ask these questions.
7. Be sure and check their references. Even though they will give you their best references, you can still get a feel for qualities such as neatness, timeliness, communication, and overall opinion of quality of the job. Keep in mind though, everybody has their own opinion of what constitutes a quality job so don’t decide based solely on their references.
8. Be leery of the aggressive cut throats, as they are more volume oriented. They have to bang out as many houses as they can to turn any kind of profit. In most cases there aren’t any core values driving the quality of their work. You only stand to suffer from this type of contractor.
9. Make sure it is understood there is to be a walk through between you and the head of the crew to take care of touch ups and any issues before you pay for the services. This is crucial, both for you and the contractor. It assures that you are happy with their work and helps eliminate warranty issues for the contractor, saving him time and money. Seasoned contractors who really care about their customers know that this is the best approach for finalizing a project.
10. You should also check for the following obvious things: a business license, Better Business Bureau for unsettled complaints, how long they have been in business, how many crews work for them, written and detailed warranties.
Always put quality first. Putting a little extra time into qualifying your painting contractors will pay off handsomely. You will have fewer headaches during the project. You will have a better looking home with a paint job that last longer.
By: Nicky Taylor
