Cle Elum and Chelan Home Inspection- The art of hiring a Contractor
Cle Elum and Chelan Home Inspection- The art of hiring a Contractor
You bought the home and after the home inspection you have a few items that you want to have addressed. These items could include a deck replaced or repair. Maybe you want to have the plumbing or electrical service upgraded. Or you are thinking on a larger scale and want to proced with a kitchen or bathroom remodel
To move forward you need to get a contractor and get some bids for the project. For many people is unfamiliar territory and it can be quite intimidating.
Planning
Here is a helpful site to give you advice and an outline of how to plan for this process. It is the “Home Owner’s Toolkit” (link) provided by Servicemagic. This tool kit has some good information on the selection process and how you can organize yourself to prepare for talking with a contractor.
(Servicemagic is like several other sites have contractors that have gone through a screening process to be accepted into their network of available contractors for referral.)
For additional information on the construction process is a book called “What Your Contractor Can’t Tell You” an essential guide to building and renovations.
As always you want to evaluate several contractors and check their references. Ensure their license is current (Washington State – Click Here). This is also the time to assess the financial strength of a contractor before any contract is signed. During the bidding process, you should require the contractor to provide its recent financial information. I recommend requiring a construction lien waiver from all parties involved with every payment and by refusing any further payments until receipt of a lien waiver (lien information).
Schedule of Payments (mainly larger projects)
You should avoid any contractor who requires a large percentage of the payment up front. It is customary to make a “good faith” down payment of a small percentage of the total job and set up a payment schedule based on completed stages of the project. The total project price or how the price will be calculated should also be clearly defined in the contract.
Holdback Clause
This states that final payment will be withheld until sometime after job completion. This will allow you time to inspect the work, provide an incentive for the contractor to remedy any problems, and obtain lien waivers from the contractor indicating all sub-contractors and suppliers have been paid.
I can tell you this due diligence can save you a lot of headaches and possible financial horrors. I have personally witnessed a project where the homeowner was left with a half finished project and all the funds depleted that should have covered the whole project.
Cle Elum and Chelan Home Inspection- The art of hiring a Contractor
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
NCW Home Inspections LLC-509-670-9572
NCW Home Inspections the “buyers advocate”.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC, located in Wenatchee WA 509-670-9572.
North Central Washington Home Inspections, LLC proudly serves Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington.
Cities served Wenatchee, Leavenworth,Cashmere, Chelan, Cle Elem, East Wenatchee, Quincy, Oroville and all areas of North Central Washington.
www.ncwhomeinspections.com
“The Confluence of Quality and Integrity”
