[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house. Now here's the thing, and this is where a lot of people get hung up on contractor markup. Well, that the way our tax system works in the United States, when that product, let's say they go out and buy $2,000 worth of flooring for you, just as around them, if they go out and buy $2,000 of the flooring that has to go through their books, which means they have to pay their accountant, they have to order it, they.

[00:00:34] Eric Goranson: Arrange delivery, they have to check it in. There's a lot of time involved in bringing those materials in and quite frankly, it gets taxed through their books one way or the other. However, their business is set up when it to remodeling

[00:00:50] Intro: to is around the

[00:00:54] Intro: House

[00:00:55] Eric Goranson: house. Welcome to the Around The House Show. This is where we talk home.

[00:00:59] Eric Goranson: Every [00:01:00] single week. Thanks for joining us today. Well, I wanted to tackle something that was gonna be kinda a huge subject, and so we're gonna do this whole hour about this, how to hire a contractor. And in today's world where we have so many challenges out there with a shortage of contractors, a shortage of people in the trade.

[00:01:22] Eric Goranson: It can be really tough trying to find someone to come work on your home, and maybe you're a DIYer and you've gotta have something that's, you know, fairly complex done that's above your ability, or you just don't want to do it and you're gonna have somebody else come knock it out. This show will be for you today.

[00:01:41] Eric Goranson: First before we get going, I wanted to say you can track me down over to around the House online.com, where you can hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, even LinkedIn, uh, around the House Show is the best place to find us there. Well, today I wanted to talk about, you know, this hiring, how [00:02:00] to hire a contractor and find the right one for your home.

[00:02:05] Eric Goranson: First off, and this is a big one right here, you wanna make sure they are licensed. Bonded and insured. You're like, Ah, I just found 'em on Craigslist. Just a small, simple project. I'm not gonna be worried about that. I'm gonna save some money. Well, this can be very dangerous for you as a homeowner, and I'm talking liability.

[00:02:28] Eric Goranson: I am not an attorney or an insurance agent, but I can tell you what these are some of the problems that can happen. First off, if you hire somebody to come over and clean out your gutters, Clean off all the leaves off your roof or something like that, and they fall off the ladder and get hurt or killed.

[00:02:47] Eric Goranson: They're your employee if they're not licensed, bonded, insured. So you are now responsible for the medical bills for disability, or even worse if it was a death. [00:03:00] So you do not want to take that liability on as a homeowner and your homeowner's insurance. Isn't gonna cover. If it does cover, it's not gonna be nearly enough and you could lose everything.

[00:03:17] Eric Goranson: So that's why this is really important on how to get these people hired correctly. Now, first off, you know, your goal here is just to find somebody that's trustworthy, that's gonna come to a great job for you. And more importantly, it's gonna be in your budget too. And so here's how I recommend that. Take a look and find them.

[00:03:40] Eric Goranson: Now, some of the worst offenders out there as far as bad places to find contractors, generally it's gonna be Craigslist, Facebook, marketplace, and next door. Now I have a, a fairly big problem with [00:04:00] door only because, for instance, here in the state of Oregon where I'm located, They actively try to keep the state of Oregon from policing them on that, on that program.

[00:04:15] Eric Goranson: So for instance, you know, you've got all these, uh, unlicensed contractors trying to sell on next door, but they won't give the state of Oregon access into the program to police these illegal contractors. And so that can be a problem. Facebook, all those can be tough. Facebook's a little easier, but Nextdoor actively is a problem with that.

[00:04:40] Eric Goranson: So Craigslist as well. These are all places that illegal contractors love to lurk and they can be a big problem. Any of these online programs as well can be tough. Yes, they might do a background check, but I tell you what, in the research that I've. A lot of 'em [00:05:00] don't do the proper checks. What it's, it's, I would assume that that, and they might not be, And here's the thing, responded, and this is how I look at it now.

[00:05:08] Eric Goranson: Maybe the day world of Contract company hired 'em through. If a contractor would be, isn't busy and they're on all these different programs trying to get leads, I question if they're new or if they've got expense. You know, prices, or more importantly, they get fired off of jobs pretty easily. So these are all things that I'm concerned about because most of the good contractors right now are just dialed in, busy.

[00:05:38] Eric Goranson: Like I know plenty of people out there that are doing decks, additions, remodels, and they're booked up six, nine months out. That is fairly traditional right now. Now one of the things that I want you to make sure of, and as a homeowner, I want you to do some research. Find out in your [00:06:00] state or your city what the rules for contractors are before you have them come over.

[00:06:06] Eric Goranson: And here's why. In my state and even up into the state of Washington next to us, they are state licensed places. But if you go into plenty of places on the East coast, these are city. Township, county, any of those areas are who the licensing through. So the state might not be involved in at all. It could be a local thing.

[00:06:34] Eric Goranson: So find out what the rules are for for a general contractor in your area, whatever you're trying to hire, and make sure they follow that. And in many areas there are paperwork that they have to give you before you go to contact. So many times they have to give you these like lead paint releases or asbestos or any of these other forms.

[00:06:57] Eric Goranson: So find out what those are in your area. [00:07:00] That is also a warning sign for me. If you do your research and they are failing to give you the proper notices, I wonder what other things are they gonna skip. If they're not getting the, the regulations right there, I worry about them doing other problems. And then the other thing I want you to do is, even though you're hiring it done, I want you to fully understand what the project's being done.

[00:07:28] Eric Goranson: Great example. I was on one of the Facebook groups the other day and one of the home improvement, not around the house nation. Cause I would've actually taken this post down and this contractor is in Colorado. Hey, Colorado Springs, watch out for another one. This is not your sledgehammer contractor, but you know what I'm talking about.

[00:07:48] Eric Goranson: This guy was out putting his tile work up saying he does bathrooms and stuff like that. I could tell you what, looking at the pictures that he was so proud of, I could tell that he didn't waterproof that correctly. [00:08:00] All he did was waterproof the seams, and so that shower was not going to last like it was supposed to because guess what?

[00:08:09] Eric Goranson: Tile. And grout is not waterproof, so that water and moisture will get in behind it and cause a problem. Concrete board is not waterproof, so make sure that you're putting the right coating on that. But see, if you didn't do any research and didn't know kind of what the best practices are, you could have gotten burned.

[00:08:30] Eric Goranson: This guy here was skipping a very important step, and by the time you noticed it was failed, he was long down the road. But he didn't know any better. So I, there are so many good contractors out. Most of them are great, but what I want you to do is by the end of this show, I want to be able to make sure that I have led you down a path so you can find the right contractor and find somebody that's gonna be really, you know, do the job right for you.

[00:08:58] Eric Goranson: So they're gonna stand behind it [00:09:00] and you get a. Your money's worth because so many of these people, especially if you listen to Amber, she got burned and she did a lot of the things right. She did to the check. She did a lot of the things right and she got taken in a really bad way, and it's taken her over a year to get that taken care of.

[00:09:17] Eric Goranson: Now when we come back, we are gonna continue the discussion on the right ways to find that great contractor. There's so many good ones out there. I just want to help you weed out the bad ones so your project doesn't go sideways like so many peoples have out there, and we'll make somebody, a new friend around the house will be right back after these important messages.

[00:09:38] Eric Goranson: Why?

[00:09:43] Eric Goranson: He said, Should I be loud? Be so hot.

[00:09:55] Eric Goranson: So man it.[00:10:00]

[00:10:09] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to Around The House Show. Now we've been talking about how to hire a contractor. How to find that perfect person to be working on your project. Now, one of the things that are, uh, it's always a, a common debate is referrals. Now referrals are not the end all, be all for anything, finding a contractor, and here's why.

[00:10:32] Eric Goranson: You have to be careful with them. Great example. If you listen to our Amber Truckie interview with her and the sledgehammer contractor, she called and did the referral. Called around, got a handful of good referrals, and she hired the wrong contractor. The problem was, is you had two things that happened.

[00:10:51] Eric Goranson: One, you had homeowners that felt guilty for the contractor that they were going through hard times and gave 'em a good referral when they shouldn't have. [00:11:00] Or two, you can run into where they have family and friends that are the referrals. So when it comes down to it, I don't wanna just get on the. Here's why I want to be able to maybe have them send me some pictures before and afters.

[00:11:17] Eric Goranson: I want to be able to see what that is somehow. And you know, it's tough because when your project's done, you don't want strangers coming over to look at your house to see how the project turned out in the same way that these people probably don't either. And so referrals can be a tough one. And you know, you just have to be prepared if you go get referral.

[00:11:38] Eric Goranson: Then you should be prepared to give them later on for that same contractor because you're gonna be his next referral or her. So that's one thing to consider. Now one, One group that I am not a fan of, which is the Better Business Bureau, I do not personally trust them. Back when I had my own kitchen, a bath business [00:12:00] up in the Seattle area, I was.

[00:12:03] Eric Goranson: Going around and somebody goes, I don't know if I'm gonna hire you. You have a C minus for your pbb. And I'm like a C minus. What are you talking about? I've never had a complaint. I've been in business for a number of years, and so I jump on there. Sure enough, I got a C minus, like wow, that's crazy. So I call them up and ask 'em why the C minus?

[00:12:25] Eric Goranson: And they fired back and said, Oh, it's because you're not an accredited. But if you want to pay the $750, we'll give you an A cuz you'll be accredited. It was a good old fashioned shakedown. And you know something, if I would've had a couple complaints, I still would've had an A because I at that time would've still been able to pay that 750 bucks or whatever it was.

[00:12:52] Eric Goranson: And I, it would've still given me that a rating because I was accredited and I had a couple complaints. So these are things [00:13:00] you gotta be really careful with. And there are places out there in the past that will charge a contractor, you know, some of these online book of contractor services. Some of them quietly will call a contractor up and say, Hey, you had some bad reviews.

[00:13:15] Eric Goranson: Do you want us to bury those for you? If so, let me get your credit card number and uh, pay the service fee and we'll hide. That doesn't help anybody. And so be very careful that I do not like that type of business, so I'm very careful of that. So referrals are a big one, and you just gotta be very careful.

[00:13:34] Eric Goranson: Now, this is where, like we talked earlier, I really like to have referrals from friends, friends and family. Hey, this person worked great for me and this is really good. This is something that you look at and go. , They helped my buddy out. They were really good. And it's something to be, something to be looked at, you know?

[00:13:54] Eric Goranson: And now here's another thing too, and this is where you want to get ahold of your state or [00:14:00] local contractor agency and take a peak too, because this is where your little bit of research can go a long way. Have they had any complaints against their license with the licensing agency, you know, and sometimes a business in 30.

[00:14:18] Eric Goranson: We'll have complaints and that's. Something really bad. It's how they deal with those complaints is how you want to deal with it. For instance, if I call up here to my area, to my local CCB and I see two or three complaints, I can call them up and they're gonna go, you know, those were pretty basic complaints and um, they're not a concern to us.

[00:14:36] Eric Goranson: These guys have really worked well to do it, and they will give. Some advice on what's a good contractor and what's not. Cuz before I do an endorsement for a contractor, I actually call up my local licensing agency and say, Before I put my Eric Jean name on it for their ads or their commercials, I wanna make sure that these guys are good.

[00:14:56] Eric Goranson: So I go through the same process that you guys [00:15:00] do, trying to track down and see what the quality of work is. I wanna see all of those little details. Now, one of the things too that you can work on that. It's a safer way to go, but it's not a a be all end all. For instance, if it's roofing, I love to find roofing windows, sometimes even citing.

[00:15:22] Eric Goranson: There are preferred trained contractors from that manufacturer's website, so you can go on to roofing material, website, pick a brand, and many of them have their certified contractors. Sometimes that gives you a better warranty and it shows that these guys have been through the training program that they provided and that they will do a informed or better job than others that are just gonna go up and put that product up.

[00:15:55] Eric Goranson: Cause I tell you what, when you look at roofing, for instance, as an [00:16:00] example, there are definitely ways to do it within their system and there's ways that you can. You could install correctly on one and it's not correctly in another. So somebody that's been trained by that company and maybe gives you even a better warranty, you might be better off.

[00:16:18] Eric Goranson: So that's not a bad place to be because guess what? If those people are having warranty issues down the road and they're certified, that roofing company doesn't want their brand put out there by somebody that's doing a bad. So that's another one. Now, another place I like to follow up with is where are they buying their materials from?

[00:16:42] Eric Goranson: I have called up the lumber yard and said, Hey, you know, um, I know these people are in there a lot. Do you like them? You like working with 'em? Sometimes you'll get some information outta them. I've actually had it before where I did some research on a contractor and they're like, Ha, [00:17:00] good luck. They haven't paid their bills here in six months.

[00:17:02] Eric Goranson: That's a warning sign, and that's something to really be careful with. Now, one of the things I want you to do too in the front end of this project is find out what their payment structure is. Because what can happen is, is if they are floating a bunch of projects out there, then if they don't pay their bills, they can put a lean on your house and nobody wants.

[00:17:27] Eric Goranson: To have a lien on their house for materials that they already paid for. So these are things you have to be really careful with. So always talk to your local. You know, leans are different in every state and every city, so you gotta be very careful with it. But contractors, leans are something that you want to get some legal advice on.

[00:17:46] Eric Goranson: And I'm not gonna be giving legal advice here cuz that's not what I do. But understand the lean process in your area before you get onto a big project. Because many times you want them, when you pay for 'em to sign a [00:18:00] lean release. Know. Hey, you've been paid and they can't put a lien on your product, on your project because the product wasn't paid for.

[00:18:08] Eric Goranson: And maybe your payment to them paid for the materials for the other project. So you don't want to be in the middle of their float, and that's something that lean releases can be very important. All right, when we come back, we're gonna talk more about what should be in that quote, this details just as soon as around the house

[00:18:26] Intro: returns.

[00:18:57] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the Around The House Show. This is where we talk home [00:19:00] improvement every week. Thanks for joining me today. Well, today we've been talking about how to hire a contractor, and in this segment here, I really wanna dive into pricing and how some contractors, or many contractors, when you're doing a remodel, end up doing that pricing so you can have a better idea of what they're doing so you can, uh, maybe negotiate or at least understand how the pricing.

[00:19:26] Eric Goranson: Now, here's the thing. When contractors are out there working on your home, you honestly want them supplying the materials because that way it's covered under their warranty. Now here's the thing, if you have somebody doing a kitchen or a bathroom remodel for you, You want them to buy the faucet, buy the stuff that they're doing, because then they have to come in and cover it.

[00:19:53] Eric Goranson: The problem is, if you as a homeowner go out and buy it, and maybe you bought the wrong faucet, but it was defective, [00:20:00] you're the one now that has to break away from work. Go take it back, warranty it, get the right materials in your chasing materials, all. And then their work is gonna cover labor only. But if it's the wrong product that's on you.

[00:20:17] Eric Goranson: So that's where that becomes a big deal. So I want my contractor to go out and buy the materials and have to cover that as part of the warranty. Now here's the thing, and this is where a lot of people get hung up on contractor markup. Well, that the way our tax system works in the United States. when that product, let's say they go out and buy $2,000 worth of flooring for you just as a round number.

[00:20:46] Eric Goranson: If they go out and buy $2,000 worth of flooring that has to go through their books, which means they have to pay their accountant, they have to order it, they have to arrange delivery, they have to check it in. There's a [00:21:00] lot of time involved in bringing those materials. And quite frankly, it gets taxed through their books one way or the other, however, their business is set up.

[00:21:10] Eric Goranson: So I would expect to see 10 is probably really low. 25 is almost pretty average these days just because of what it takes to get materials here. It's a lot harder to get materials here, so there's a lot more work involved, but that contractor is gonna mark that up, probably 25. But here's what you gotta think about this.

[00:21:37] Eric Goranson: That contractor might be getting a 30% discount because they're buying as a contractor. So what that means is, is now they're buying at a 30% discount, marketing it up 25%, it's still saving you 5%, and you don't have the headache or the warranty that you're responsible for. So it's a better deal for you as a.

[00:21:59] Eric Goranson: [00:22:00] Now there are contractors out there that say, Oh, I don't mark it up at all. I have zero markup. But you know something, They're paying, You're paying for that someplace. So now if they're pitching to you that, Oh wow, we don't mark our stuff up, it's, it's all part of the deal. It's in their labor budget. It's hiding.

[00:22:21] Eric Goranson: This is still a business. They still have to be profitable. They still have to pay their insurance labor and industry stuff for workers' compensation, whatever those fees are, gas fuel tools, it's all in there. So they have to be covering that. So you're either gonna have markup that's gonna be real, and then they're gonna have their labor number.

[00:22:45] Eric Goranson: And then the cost of materials. So this is really, I want you to not be scared about that markup because that's just part of business out there for them. They're gonna have to put it in there someplace. And I'll be honest, I'd much rather have those [00:23:00] numbers out there where I can see them versus hiding into a labor budget.

[00:23:03] Eric Goranson: So to me, I'd much rather see the cost plus timeframe with that, where it's all laid out so you can. How that's accounted for versus hiding those other management numbers within the labor number. So don't be scared of markups because that's where that contractor is covering their costs. So just keep an eye out on that.

[00:23:29] Eric Goranson: That is one of those things that you really need to be careful with. Now, quotes when they give you an. I don't wanna see kitchen remodel, $66,000 cabinetry, countertops, flooring, appliances. Usually if I see a remodel number like that, I advise you to walk away, run. That's how you handle that. Just go away, because I [00:24:00] wanna see a multi page, detailed out estimate from that contractor.

[00:24:05] Eric Goranson: I wanna know. Allowances. I want to know what those expectations are because you know something, if you're thinking of having a luxury kitchen done and you've got this expectation of quality and they go down and buy the import knockdown Chinese cabinets, you've got a problem and you are getting the wrong materials for your project.

[00:24:33] Eric Goranson: Be very careful that I'm very concerned about not having that detailed out, because now you can go through and go, Oh wow, they have budget for knobs, countertop flooring, a new vent hood. You know, maybe the electrical upgrades, plumbing upgrades. You can go through and see what those line items are, and there's gonna be a number associated with it.

[00:24:55] Eric Goranson: And because you might not have gone through the design process and picked out the cabinets, now you have [00:25:00] a budget for. So now you can go, Okay, well they accounted for $30,000 for cabinets. Okay? Now you can go out and look and say, Okay, can I get $30,000 of cabinets to give me the level of quality that I expect?

[00:25:15] Eric Goranson: So that detailed estimate is key. Now, here's another one. I am not opposed, and I think this is actually important. I'm not opposed for a remodel contractor. To charge you a few hundred bucks to put that together. They're gonna spend hours putting that estimate together, and I have no problem if they're gonna charge you a couple hundred bucks and they give you that money back when you sign with them.

[00:25:45] Eric Goranson: I don't expect people to work for free and nor should you, That contractor doesn't want to give you a free estimate. That's detailed. I'm okay with that. They've gotta take time outta their day. They're not at a job site, [00:26:00] they're not working. They've got their team working, but they're over at your house spending hours with you and then back in the office.

[00:26:08] Eric Goranson: They can spend eight or 10 hours with you and that just to get you numbers. And I think it's perfectly fair to compensate for that. So I have no problem with estimate. Are paid for. And I know contractors out there that used to do it, but because of the level of detail and all the things that have to go into it, it's, it's a smart way to go.

[00:26:29] Eric Goranson: And that way you know that you're getting a solid estimate. I like to have that. It's not a problem. So now warranty is something that I want you to take a look at as well. What is the warranty? What is the warranty requirement for your contractors'? What do they require? Do they have a six month warranty?

[00:26:49] Eric Goranson: What is the minimum in your area? Who is the one regulating that? So I would find out that, and then figure out what the warranty is. Because [00:27:00] sometimes you might have a one year warranty, that's the minimum, and that contractor's gonna do, Oh, I'm gonna stand behind it. I'm gonna give you a two year warranty.

[00:27:08] Eric Goranson: So now you know, okay, they're gonna stand behind the work. They wanna do it once and if they're gonna come out, the longer the warranty, the. Now, here's the other thing I want you to take a look at too. Before we go out to break. I wanna make sure you figure out how long they've been in business because there are a handful of contractors out there that I know of that are six companies down the road and every four or five years they blow that company up, start a new one.

[00:27:36] Eric Goranson: And now that warranty that they did before is gone because guess what? They're at a business. We've had that with small window companies for years. They go out and have a seven year run selling a lifetime window, and as soon as the windows start failing, oops. They've closed up. They're gone. , then you have no warranty, and that can be a big problem because now all [00:28:00] of a sudden there's nobody there to stand behind it.

[00:28:01] Eric Goranson: So make sure you understand how long they've been in business, and if they're a new company, I'm okay with that as. But I just don't like to see somebody that has got their name attached to 7, 8, 9, 10 businesses. That's a big warning sign for me. All right, we come back, we're gonna talk more about contractors and how to hire 'em just as soon as a around the house

[00:28:22] Intro: returns.

[00:28:41] Intro: T[00:29:00]

[00:29:00] Eric Goranson: welcome back to the Around the House Show. Now if you've been following us on social media, make sure that. Over on Facebook, our member of Around the House Nation, that is our closed group over there outside of the, Around the House Show Facebook page, that, uh, we have a bunch of new members and a lot of good times over there.

[00:29:20] Eric Goranson: So that's a place you can share up your projects, questions, that kind of stuff, so you can go over and enjoy it right there. And that's around the House Nation on Facebook. Now, we've been talking about how to hire a contractor today, and this is an important part of the whole thing. The contract, and I'll be honest, if you have a contractor that wants to do their work without a contract, run away fast.

[00:29:44] Eric Goranson: This all needs to be documented and it needs to be really documented. Well, first off, in the contract, I wanna see. All the required stuff that has to be there, and that's where you [00:30:00] do your research to make sure there are, In my state for instance, there are specific contract language that has to be in that contract.

[00:30:09] Eric Goranson: So make sure and find out, do some education on your area because it's different everywhere across the country, but make sure that they're following those, those local laws for that. Second of all here, I wanna see a very detailed explanation of what's going on. If you've picked out materials, if it's a certain decking, I wanna see that in there.

[00:30:32] Eric Goranson: If it's a certain roofing, I wanna see it on there. If the replacing things, I want to see it on there. This needs to be a detailed account, and here's why, Because technically, if it's not in the contract and you're writing a check, they don't have to. So this needs to have a step-by-step. You know, cabinets, poles, countertops, sink, faucet, all needs to be there and make sure that you're [00:31:00] doing it.

[00:31:00] Eric Goranson: Are they pulling permits? Is the one required Who's doing that? Are you doing that as the homeowner or are they doing that? Have that be in there. And then one of the most important things is I wanna see the schedule of payments. How much down? How much are progress payments? When's final due? How does that work?

[00:31:24] Eric Goranson: I wanna see this all spelled out. Warranty. These are all details that should be all written out and spelled out within this whole thing because this is important. Now, the thing I wanna do, let's say, I'll give you a hypothetical guys. If you have a contractor coming over to sign a contract that afternoon hours before, here's what I want you to do.

[00:31:49] Eric Goranson: You should have in your hand, their license number, their insurance company, all of those things. I want to call and make sure the day of the contract signing that their [00:32:00] insurance is in a fact. I wanna make sure their bond is in effect. I also wanna make sure that their license. Is in effect because what could happen is, is, uh, in many states, if you don't pay your insurance, you are, as soon as that company stops getting payment, they suspend the, the contractor's license.

[00:32:25] Eric Goranson: So you wanna make sure all these things are in effect the day you do, because that way when you sign it, you know it's covered. And so you're better off that way. That is one of the most important steps. Along the way with this. Now here's another secret. I see people get away with this in the contracting world, but I wanna make sure that you see that this is covered for your sake.

[00:32:48] Eric Goranson: Because what I see is depending on the state, a contractor could have employees or they could be all subcontractors. So that contractor doesn't have any employees, but [00:33:00] everybody else is a company that's working for. And I'm cool with that. But if they have employees that show up at the job site as laborers or anything else, you wanna make sure that they have a worker's compensation plan for them.

[00:33:13] Eric Goranson: So make sure in your state, again, follow these rules or township or county. Many times they have to be paying insurance for those employees, so make sure they're covered. I have caught many times in certain states, Contractors that say they're exempt where they don't have any employees. So they're not paying any of those worker compensation payments for that insurance.

[00:33:37] Eric Goranson: And people show up in the job site that are employees, and guess what? They're working off the books. That can be a problem for you. So I wanna make sure that, Now, here's the second one. If you've got a big project, and this can be controversial, but I'm okay with it. I don't mind having. A third company come through and do inspections as things are going [00:34:00] along.

[00:34:01] Eric Goranson: I don't mind having a framing inspection by a third party inspector that's making sure you are good. Because if many times, And here's one thing that I wanna say about building code. Building code is great for health and safety welfare. The people inside the building building code does not address quality workman.

[00:34:24] Eric Goranson: You can build a horrible, ugly looking project, but technically meet building code, and that's where things get crazy. Building inspectors are gonna look at you as a hack for doing it that way, but all of a sudden you look at it and go, Man, this is crazy. This is the most ugly, low quality work, but it is.

[00:34:48] Eric Goranson: So you need to keep that into mind. That is one of those things to do that and then make sure that that quality is going throughout the project. So having that second, you know, level of of inspection going through there is good. [00:35:00] And then again, like we talked about earlier, knowing that you have things ready to go with the building department, who's pulling the permits?

[00:35:06] Eric Goranson: Are you doing it? Do you even need one? And then what do you do when things come up in the project? This is can be a kind of a, a problem with building projects, especially if you're doing a kit tree model and you run into unforeseen circumstances and they do happen. But this is where I'm cautious with contractors.

[00:35:32] Eric Goranson: There are so many good contractors out there that do a great job, but there's also ones out there that are your low bid winners. And what I mean is, is they come in and give you all the details. Let's say they're at a hundred thousand dollars and everybody else is at a hundred and thirty, a hundred forty, a hundred fifty, and you're like, Man, these guys are gonna save me money.

[00:35:53] Eric Goranson: It's all detailed out. It's right there. Well, your contracts sometimes will say, Oh, if there's any, [00:36:00] anything found in the job site conditions, that will be a change order. And yes, change orders should all be written down and documented. I wanna make sure those are covered. But here's the problem that you're run.

[00:36:13] Eric Goranson: There are contractors out there that nail you on change orders, and that is part of their business plan when they see the, the damage that was in a wall from, you know, maybe it was a rodent, maybe it was, um, carpenter, ants, termites. A lot of that, quite frankly, can't be seen until you get it open, and that's a legitimate change.

[00:36:39] Eric Goranson: But the problem is, is some of these companies will turn around and charge you double what it would be to do it because they got you bent over the barrel. You are trapped. So this is where I wanna see that, how that's written out. With change orders, is that gonna be at market rate for everything else on the project or you give them the [00:37:00] right to go through and charge you whatever they want.

[00:37:03] Eric Goranson: So make sure that's spelled out. Now there are things in there that the contractor should have caught. You know, I've had many times that I've had to go on, on projects where they're like, I had no idea that load that wall was load bearing. Well, it should have been if you knew as a contractor what that should have been, and you assumed it wasn't, and it was, Hey man, that's on you.

[00:37:26] Eric Goranson: You should be sharing that cost with the homeowner at the least. And I know plenty of contractors out there that are good that when they make mistakes like that, they just get it taken care of and they keep moving on. And then that way that keeps going. And then the other thing I want you to keep an eye on too is deliveries clean up and job site conditions, tear out is one of the worst problems when it comes to unhealthy air in your home.

[00:37:55] Eric Goranson: So I wanna make sure that they have documented. The demo process [00:38:00] and how they're getting rid of stuff. Is there, is there lead paint testing? Is there asbestos testing? If you're, uh, you know, an older house, and trust me, you can have asbestos into the two thousands on a project. So make sure that they're doing that correctly, cuz the last thing you wanna do is to have that.

[00:38:16] Eric Goranson: So they should be protecting everything around the house, and that should be spelled out in that contract. I wanna make sure that when they come in and they're working on a kitchen or a bathroom that they're putting down, RAM board on the hallway. Make sure everything's protected. And that way you're good if you're in a condo project.

[00:38:33] Eric Goranson: How are they getting in? Are they having to get parking passes? Do they have to have protection in the elevator? These are things that are all really important. They wanna, I wanna make sure that you are dialed in. And last of all, before we go out to break, make sure that you don't go with the lowest bed.

[00:38:50] Eric Goranson: Grab something in the middle and make sure that you've got that relat. Because if things when you go to sign the contract are not perfect with that contractor, that's the honeymoon [00:39:00] period. It's just gonna get more stressful. And that is something you need to be careful with. And you know something, you're the homeowner.

[00:39:08] Eric Goranson: Don't be that nightmare. Homeowner yourself. That way they can get the job done and let 'em do it correctly. All right everybody. Thanks for listening to Around

[00:39:17] Intro: the House.