Ventana Construction

Part 2: Now  what I have short list, what do I do?

Check for licensing, bonding, insurance and workers compensation insurance. This is an easy thing to check in Washington State on the state Licensing and Insurance website: https://fortress.wa.gov/lni/bbip/ The website lists every licensed construction company: remodelers, builders, plumbers, electricians, sheetrockers, and so on.  If a company offers a construction service, they should have a license.  This is useful even if you are just hiring a plumber to fix your sink.  The website includes information about the owners, how long they’ve been in business, what their liability insurance and bond limits are, whether they have had any judgments against their company, whether they have active worker’s compensation insurance and a Department of Revenue account.

The only difficulty in using the L&I website is that if you don’t have a license number, you must enter the company name exactly as it is registered.  As an example, “ABC Plumbers” could be listed as “A B C”, “A.B.C.” or “ABC”.  We’ve sometimes had trouble finding legitimate, licensed companies because of the way the name was registered.  Just because you can’t find it the first time doesn’t mean the company isn’t licensed. Call them and ask for their license number to ensure that you can find them online.

One more thing to look for, particularly for construction contractors, is whether they hold a specialty or general contractor’s license.  The state licenses contractors with a specialty license if they practice only one or two specialty aspects of construction, like millwork or countertops.  Contractors with specialty licenses post a smaller bond and often have lower general liability limits.  If your contractor is hiring plumbers and electricians, while also performing framing and other work, they should have a general contractor’s license with the state-specified $12,000 bond.

Google them And don’t just Google, but Yahoo and Bing them too.  You will find different information on different search engines.  Search results will show you not only how effective the contractor’s marketing has been, but also how they are involved in their community and over how long a time.

Look for reviews A number of websites offer reviews.  Some are by subscription, like Angie’s List http://angieslist.com/ and others like Judy’s Book http://www.judysbook.com/ and Yelp http://www.yelp.com/ allow you to see reviews without logging in.  Just because a company has a bad review doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a bad company, but a preponderance of bad reviews should raise a red flag.

Check affiliations and memberships The Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org/ is one of the oldest groups to monitor individual business performance as it relates to customer satisfaction. Memberships with the contractor’s local HBA, the National Association of Home Builders http://www.nahb.org , the National Association of the Remodeling Industry http://www.nari.org/ , the Associated General Contractors http://www.agc.org/ and similar groups demonstrate a higher level of interest in participating in the industry.  If you are interested in Green building, checking for a contractor’s affiliations with Green-centered organizations like the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild http://www.ecobuilding.org/ and certifying groups like Built Green http://www.builtgreen.net/ might be helpful.

Check for community participation and continuing education Professional remodelers who have a strong community-based business tend to participate in community events and donate locally.  Fairs, concerts and other events provide sponsorship opportunities, and local newspapers and blogs (like the West Seattle Blog http://westseattleblog.com/ ) can be sponsored via advertising.  Hiring a company in your neighborhood who donates locally ensures that your money is going back into the community where you live.  There is also an inherent value in hiring a company in your neighborhood because there isn’t a distance or time barrier (read: freeway traffic) to get in the way of taking care of you quickly.

The National Association of Home Builders and other groups have educational programs and certifications designed to demonstrate achievement in certain areas (Green building, business management, customer service, aging-in-place, etc.) that are satisfied with classes and other requirements.  A contractor who takes the time to complete these designations has gone the extra mile to learn more about how to do a better job for you.

Look at their website A website will tell you alot about a company: how well they communicate, what kind of work they do (via their online portfolio), what they think is important, and how frequently they take the time to update their website.  A professional remodeler will see the value of a strong online presence and will invest in regular updates and a comprehensive website.  A remodeler who is stretched thin in terms of resources will either not update regularly, or have limited information.  Some companies that have been in business for decades may still not see the value of a web presence, particularly if they are smaller have a steady stream of business from previous clients.

Next, Part 3: What to Ask in Person

We were at the Seattle Home Show in February, where we spent two days at the Master Builders Association’s Remodelers Council booth. The booth is a chance for us to talk about our company with people interested in remodeling, and also an opportunity for Home Show attendees to “Ask the Experts” questions on a variety of topics related to home improvement.

It is common for Home Show attendees to mistake us for MBA employees because we are adjacent to the main MBA booth, so we often get candid questions that might not be asked of contractors.  The number one question this last Spring was along the lines of, “How do I sort through all the remodelers out there and find one I can trust and work with?”

It’s a great question and one that will have a different answer, depending on your project and your expectations.  We’ll get into that later.  But first, the basics: How to create a short list of contractors to consider.  These are some of the techniques you can use….

Ask friends or co-workers who they hired. This can be helpful, particularly if the work your friends contracted for is similar to your project.  It’s also important to know enough about your friends’ taste and tolerances that their positive referral is for reasons that you will agree with.  We have a friend who loved her contractor, who had no employees and took many many months longer than anticipated but came in with what she considered a good price.  We also have a friend who bailed out a tarp in a downpour for an entire night because her contractor didn’t answer his phone.  She was less enchanted with her contractor for a variety of reasons beyond the tarp, including erratic billing practices, but the quality of the work completed was quite good.  What’s most helpful about collecting names is that you will likely start hearing one or two names repeatedly, and you may want to focus in on those.

Look in your neighborhood Contractors often post signs for larger projects, so it’s clear who is doing the work.  You can also ask neighbors who have work under way, and they can at least give you an “in progress” referral for their contractor.  It’s not unusual for homeowners who have a good experience with their contractor to hire them a new project, so those referrals might be the most valuable.

Ask your architect If you have already selected an architect or designer, they may have recommendations.  Because architects usually work with dozens of contractors over the years, they may have a good “short list” of contractors whose quality of work and communication, and fair pricing sets them apart from the rest.  As with the referrals from friends, knowing the architect’s or designer’s standards is helpful as well.

Check with your local HBA Home builders’ associations usually make their membership lists available online.  In the Seattle area, the Master Builders’ Association of King and Snohomish Counties (www.mba-ks.com) has a complete list of its builder/remodeler members and associate members, like plumbers and electricians.  The MBA website provides an option to search for builders by city, which will help narrow down members in your area.  HBAs generally have standards for acceptance of members, and the MBA requires adherence to a code of ethics as a condition of membership.  Code of Ethics is here.

Do an Internet search An Internet search can tell you what companies are doing a good job of providing content (high organic results) and which companies are paying alot to advertise (“sponsored” results).  The value of the search is that you can look at the websites of each company to see what kind of work they do and learn more about them.  It also may make you aware of companies that you might not otherwise know about.  The “buyer beware” part of this is that companies can make themselves look big and competent online when the reality is different.  Similarly, very good companies that are not Internet-savvy may have a limited or outdated website.

Next, part 2: Now that I have a short list, what do I do?