Eliminating Financial Risks with Contractors

You've heard horror stories from people who have done a home improvement or remodeling projects that didn't go very well. As much good work is done every year, there are always stories of the Project Gone Bad that ruin the names of well-intentioned, good and reputable contractors everywhere, and that scare even the smartest, most prepared homeowner. Here's how the story usually goes.

The Horror Story
You've saved up enough money or have gotten approval on your refinancing or a home equity loan so you can finally complete that long-awaited, much-anticipated home remodeling project. After taking your time to find a good and reputable contractor, you hire one. You have a lengthy discussion about your hopes and dreams for your project, and you and your contractor agree to a timeline and budget for it. Next, in order to get started, your contractor asks you for a down payment, sometimes as much as 50% of the total cost of your project. Pretty standard so far, right? But weeks into the project, you begin noticing that progress is slipping and agreed-upon timelines aren't being met. You begin questioning him about what happened to all the money you've already paid him - surely, he couldn't have gone through all of it already, not when you see project timelines and deliverables not being met. Your dream project begins to drift away. You are desperate to get it back on track, and worried about your money.

This is an all too familiar occurrence, and you're not alone. Every year many homeowners file complaints with the Better Business Bureau and other consumer advocacy groups or agencies in their local area about contractors who have failed to perform as contracted, or even scarier, who have left the project incomplete with most of the homeowner's money in hand.

Home Improvements Do Not Have to be Scary
The above situation happened enough to homeowners that we thought it was worth a look into some solutions for creating less uncertainty and more security for homeowners and their big ticket home improvement or remodeling projects. In addition to ServiceMagic's 10-point contractor background check to give you peace-of-mind that you're in the hands of a reputable and professional contractor; we partnered with a company called Buildproof to help provide you with two basic, but sometimes tricky elements of your project - secure payments to your contractor, and smart, effective and clear communication between you and your contractor. The goal? To give you even more security and confidence as you embark on what should be a stress and hassle-free home improvement or remodeling project.

Buildproof is the first online secure payment, communications, and project management service for homeowners, contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers. Buildproof has provided secure online payment and communication management services to thousands of homeowners and contractors since 2005.

Through Buildproof's proprietary, secure online payment and communication system homeowners are assured that their project funds are safe, and that payments will be made only when both the homeowner and the contractor agree on progress milestones and a job well done.

In addition to solving the potential payment headaches, Buildproof's online communication center allows you and your contractor to post comments or replies, and even better, to keep a paper trail of all communications. Should that rare occasion arise where there is still a misunderstanding between you and your contractor, the electronic paper trail of all correspondence will come in handy as a tool to equitably and reasonably resolve any dispute between parties. Buildproof is free for homeowners.

The Last Word
The very best advice for both homeowners and contractors is to establish a good and rational relationship with your counterpart. There are many ways to build a solid relationship, and there are tools like Buildproof, that can keep things from getting out of hand. But remember, both parties want something from the relationship: the homeowner wants a better home, and the contractor wants to get paid for his or her work. These interests are tied together, and a little courtesy, a little patience, and being honest about what you want and what you expect, is always the best way to handle these situations.

Use this link to learn more about Buildproof.

Rate This Article

OVERALL RATING

YOUR RATING

Saving Rating...

Log-in to save your ratings!

Recommend This Article

Digg
Reddit
Del.icio.us

ServiceMagic Articles To-Go