How to hire a contractor for home renovations: Top 9 Tips

Whether you’re a first-time buyer or a seasoned property investor, at some point in your home-buying journey, you’re going to need to invest in maintenance for your home. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scams out there, so it’s important to know how to hire a contractor for home renovations. Here are some tips to help you with this.

1. Word Of Mouth Recommendations

Recommendations from trusted friends and family who have used a particular building contractor and have lasting evidence of their work is always a good place to start. Getting recommendations from people you know means you may be able to see their actual home and the quality of the builder’s work in person.

Many traders rely on word of mouth as traditional, admin, and online marketing aren’t always their strong points.

2. Look Locally

Looking for a builder based locally in your area can help with the home renovation process. This is because it should be easier for them to travel to you. Also, the amount of time they spend working on your home and their knowledge of the local area will help them better understand planning permissions.

3. Find A Builder Online

If you fail to get word-of-mouth recommendations, consider looking for online recommendations through sound reviews. Reputable sites like CheckATrade.com only allow qualified tradesmen to post ads on-site, so you can be confident that they are verified tradesmen.

When looking online, you should also look at the reviews of customers who have used these tradesmen to help you decide whether to pursue their services.

The Homebuyers Club is an online community of Homebuyers who can recommend builders they’ve used before for your home renovation journey.

4. Get Several Quotes

Once you have come across a few tradespeople who are vetted from the reviews you’ve heard or seen about their work, make sure you get multiple quotes from different tradespeople.

Even if you have one recommended by someone you trust, always get at least a second quote to compare pricing and get an idea of the budget you may need for the work.

5. Analyse Quotes

If a quote that a tradesman has provided seems too good to be true, you should ask questions to the builder and do your private research on the company before booking any work. In a cost of living crisis, scams are at an all-time high as many are taking advantage of vulnerable people who may not know much about quote comparisons.

6. Aim For Specialists For Home Renovation

We’ve all heard the phrase a jack of all trades is a master of none, right? Whilst there are quality builders that may be able to do multiple jobs, for example, roofing and plastering, unless the trader has been recommended to you by someone you trust and you’re confident they will deliver, it may be best to prioritise searching for tradesmen that specialise in the specific work you’re looking for. Specialists will know everything there is to know about that particular job you need help with. 

In comparison, a contractor who does one of many things may not be as well versed in a particular area as a specialist would. So, as a general guide, prioritise searching for specialists for the best chance of hiring a contractor for home renovation.

7. Assessing Pros And Cons Of Each Contractor

Before you make the decision of which builder to go with, assess the benefits and disadvantages of each contractor you have got a quote from. For example, you could make a table or Excel sheet to help you visually compare better.

Questions to consider in your decision making could include how much experience the contractor has, the amount of recommendations, whether they have the right insurance and certificates in place, whether they are registered on the company’s house, etc.

These are all key questions to verify before handing over your home to any builder. You want to make sure you’ve picked the right person.

8. Find A Contractor With Project Management

Home renovation requires a lot of work, and you want to ensure you get updates throughout the process. Having a point of contact for someone on the building team who is managing the project or knows everything involved in the project will help keep you in the loop and make you feel like your home renovation is in safe hands as they accurately update you on the project process.

9. Secure A Contract

Even if you totally trust the contractor you choose through recommendation, it’s essential to have the agreement all written down and signed off in a contract. This will prevent any unnecessary disputes about what is and isn’t being done for the job and will provide clarity on payment, too. 

All of these tips should help you understand how to hire a contractor for home renovations.