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• Renovation Experts - Put your home in good hands. Get FREE estimates on your project.
Checking References
Talk with some of the remodeler's former customers. They can help you decide if a particular contractor is right for you. You may want to ask:
| • | Can I visit your home to see the completed job?
| | • | Were you satisfied with the project? Was it completed on time?
| | • | Did the contractor keep you informed about the status of the project, and any problems along the way?
| | • | Were there unexpected costs? If so, what were they?
| | • | Did workers show up on time? Did they clean up after finishing the job?
| | • | Would you recommend the contractor?
| | • | Would you use the contractor again?
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Understanding Your Payment Options
You have several payment options for most home improvement and maintenance and repair projects. For example, you can get your own loan or ask the contractor to arrange financing for larger projects. For smaller projects, you may want to pay by check or credit card. Avoid paying cash. Whatever option you choose, be sure you have a reasonable payment schedule and a fair interest rate. Here are some additional tips:
| • | Try to limit your down payment. Some state laws limit the amount of money a contractor can request as a down payment. Contact your state or local consumer agency to find out what the law is in your area.
| | • | Try to make payments during the project contingent upon completion of a defined amount of work. These ways, if the work is not proceeding according to schedule, the payments also are delayed.
| | • | Don't make the final payment or sign an affidavit of final release until you are satisfied with the work and know that the subcontractors and suppliers have been paid. Lien laws in your state may allow subcontractors and/or suppliers to file a mechanic's lien against your home to satisfy their unpaid bills. Contact your local consumer agency for an explanation of lien laws where you live.
| | • | Some state or local laws limit the amount by which the final bill can exceed the estimate, unless you have approved the increase. Check with your local consumer agency.
| | • | If you have a problem with merchandise or services that you charged to a credit card, and you have made a good faith effort to work out the problem with the seller, you have the right to withhold from the card issuer payment for the merchandise or services. You can withhold payment up to the amount of credit outstanding for the purchase, plus any finance or related charges.
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The "Home Improvement" Loan Scam
A contractor calls or knocks on your door and offers to install a new roof or remodel your kitchen at a price that sounds reasonable. You tell him you're interested, but can't afford it. He tells you it's no problem - he can arrange financing through a lender he knows. You agree to the project, and the contractor begins work. At some point after the contractor begins, you are asked to sign a lot of papers. The papers may be blank or the lender may rush you to sign before you have time to read what you've been given to sign. You sign the papers. Later, you realize that the papers you signed are a home equity loan. The interest rate, points and fees seem very high. To make matters worse, the work on your home isn't done right or hasn't been completed, and the contractor, who may have been paid by the lender, has little interest in completing the work to your satisfaction.
You can protect yourself from inappropriate lending practices. Here's how.
Don't:
| • | Agree to a home equity loan if you don't have enough money to make the monthly payments.
| | • | Sign any document you haven't read or any document that has blank spaces to be filled in after you sign.
| | • | Let anyone pressure you into signing any document.
| | • | Deed your property to anyone. First consult an attorney, a knowledgeable family member, or someone else you trust.
| | • | Agree to financing through your contractor without shopping around and comparing loan terms.
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