3 Most Common Mistakes Homeowners Make When Starting A Contractor Search
Starting a home remodel or a renovation project? Then you're going to want to know the top three mistakes that homeowners make when searching for their contractor, so you don't end up with a construction horror story to tell after the project is all over.
Are you making one of these 3 common renovation mistakes?
Read on to find out and avoid falling for the same traps, or watch the video below and let me know if you’ve made one of these renovation mistakes before.
Hey, House Friends!
How are you doing? It's Mona here with Kickstart House, and if you're thinking of starting a home remodel or a renovation project then you're going to want to know the top three mistakes that homeowners make when searching for their contractor. So that you don't become one of those people with a construction horror story to tell after all this is over.
Today's topic is all about…
The Contractor Search
You know… When you're ready to start that project that you've been waiting to do, perhaps for a long time. When you've been sitting on a project that’s lived only in your head, when you've been dwelling in and old house, perhaps living in a fixer upper or just purchased a new house. And there's all these things that you want to really change and haven't pulled the trigger yet.
But now, you don't want to wait anymore and you want to hire someone to just fix all this stuff.
Everything is clearly not a DIY project.
You just don't have the time to do it.
So you're going to have to step into that role of being the “boss” of construction, of having hire out -- perhaps one person or a number of different building vendors -- to make this happen.
And so if you've been looking for that information on what to do with your contractor search so that you can avoid the top mistakes, then you're definitely in the right spot.
Hi, I'm Mona — the House Coach behind Kickstart House. I have a background as a licensed architect and interior designer. This site is all about my life as a serial renovator and the tips and the tools that I've learned through years of improving and bringing out the potential in older homes.
The mission of Kickstart House is to help busy, everyday homeowners like you, to navigate a home renovation process with confidence.
(Be sure to bookmark this page and let me know what other home improvement topics you want to know about, because I love to share strategies and tips about navigating home renovations and remodels from a homeowner's perspective.)
Also, keep reading until the very end of my posts, where I'll always give you a free, additional resources to help you with this exact topic we're talking about.
So let's get started and go over the top three mistakes that homeowners make when searching for a contractor.
Mistake #1:
Asking your friends and family and neighbors for recommendations.
I mean, this is what everybody does, right? You want to find your contractor and you don't really know where to go. So you ask your neighbor who just did a remodel, or you perhaps ask your friends who just bought a house, or you your friends with a beautiful home.
This is normal and common. (As common as projects going over budget or way past schedule.)
This is what most people do, but it can also get you into trouble.
Because the thing you need to realize is, that if you're asking people who don't have a background in remodeling to help you... if you ask a blanket question such as, "can you recommend a good contractor," to somebody who isn't used to construction and doesn't know the nuances of how to pair you up with the right professional... then you may end up with the wrong contractor for your project.
Your friend or your parents or your neighbor may have had a great experience with their contractor. But if their style is different than yours, if their lifestyle and values are different than yours, and they came from a different set of resources or budget, then that contractor may not be the right fit for you.
So you really need to focus on what your needs are and not what somebody else used. If that criteria doesn't match with yours.
Asking friends, families, and neighbors can also lead you to the wrong contractor for your needs because, social media, HGTV, television, movies, makes everyone feel like they can be an expert. It's making everyone feel like they're an expert in the home space.
Psst… If you watched a whole bunch of reality TV shows, it actually doesn't make you an expert.
We'll get into that discussion on a later date.
But today, let's focus on the top mistakes that I don't want you to make when you're searching for your contractor.
And the first one is asking your friends, families, and neighbors with that blanket statement: "Can you recommend a good contractor?"
Mistake #2: Focusing on the wrong solution.
Top mistake number two for when you're searching for a contractor to hire, is focusing on the wrong solution.
Let me give you example of what that means.
Recently, on NextDoor, I noticed that someone had posted about wanting to remodel their bathroom, and they said something to the effect of... they wanted a full bathroom remodel. They were asking for a vanity, a sink, someone to install the toilet and basically help them do the project.
And they were searching for a Plumber.
Now, if you haven't hired for your home before or you've never done a construction project -- and raise your hand, most people do not work in construction -- then the type of professional you're imagining may be very different than who you actually need to hire.
In your mind, if you feel like you need to hire a Plumber to do your bathroom remodel, but you actually needed a General Contractor, or perhaps a Design-Build, or a separate Architect or Interior Designer with a contracting team-- then you don't really know what your options are.
You could really end up wasting a lot of time or end up hiring the wrong person because you started from a place where you didn't really understand your options.
During your contractor search, make sure you don't make that mistake of jumping or assuming a wrong solution or wrong vendor before you fully understand what your options are.
Mistake #3: Assuming the Wrong Process
The final mistake that homeowners make when searching for their contractor is not understanding the process of construction and in the process of how to get something built.
What I mean by that, is that a lot of people will jump to hiring a contractor before they're actually ready to hire a contractor.
Let me give you an analogy.
Let's say you're planning a big event which will involve hiring a caterer to prepare a glorious meal for many people.
Before your caterer is going to be able to bring on board the sous chefs and the people who actually cook and prep the day of, they're going to need to sit down with you first to talk about allergies and guest preferences, meal plan, develop the recipes, buy the ingredients, and get everything ready before that day of cooking.
The same applies for construction.
So many people jump to hiring a contractor before they are actually ready.
So how do you know if you're ready?
Well, hiring a contractor before you're actually ready means that you could end up wasting a lot of time and money because now you're working with a crew and you're holding up their process and their workflow if you've got decisions that have not been made before. So you really have to understand the process of how construction is done, what type of information needs to be in place. All before you pull the trigger on hiring your contractor.
Could you use some more clarity on the renovation process? Download my Renovation Roadmap.
Now that you know the top mistakes that homeowners make, you might be wondering, what do you do next?
I'm going to leave you with an actionable tool that you can download and use so that you can avoid these top mistakes that homeowners make when searching for their contractor.
It's a guide I've written that you can download for free. It's a checklist of the top 6 Things You Must Do Before Hiring a Contractor.
In this guide, you can see if you're actually ready to hire a contractor and avoid these mistakes that many homeowners make.
Visit my website KickstartHouse.com for more tips and tools on how to navigate your home renovation without spending in your wheels, wasting a lot of time and money, or simply going crazy over the process. Because it doesn't have to be that way.
Happy building!
Ready to make serious progress on your reno?
Hi, I’m Mona. An architect and renovation coach who’s on a mission to help everyday homeowners feel empowered in their build journeys.
Grab my free Renovation Roadmap to navigate any build project with confidence and clarity.