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Rules to follow for a Successful Home Renovation Project  

Are you pondering and planning your next home project?

Do you need to hire a contractor or trades person to help you complete the job?

Here are some great tips to follow to make sure your project turns out as planned and stays on budget.

  1. Ask around – Get referrals from friends who have had successful outcomes or from other tradespeople you trust and have worked in your home.
  2. Check references
  3. Get multiple bids – Collect at least 3 bids for each part of your job
  4. Plan the job – Work with a designer or plan it out yourself as much as possible before collecting the bids
  5. Compare Bids – make sure all bids are quoting the same work.  Sometimes a bid may seem low, but each company bidding on the job may not be quoting the same work or  the same quality of finishes of the more expensive bid.  Get the job quoted as it will be done as change orders tend to add much expense to the job.  Try as best you can to get quotes for the full scope of work.
  6. Pull Permits – Permits are there to protect you, not just make money for your local building department.  If you pull a permit you will have an inspector holding your contractor’s feel the fire to make sure everything is done correctly, this will ensure the job is completed properly and it will give you recourse if you make a bad hire and the contractor refuses to complete the job ‘to code’.  If you sell your home and have done significant work to the property odds are you’ll be asked to provide proof that permits were pulled and the house passed inspection when you go to sell your home.  Without permits your home may be less marketable and sell for a lower price, or possibly not sell at all.  A city inspection is more than a piece of paper. A passed inspection is a certification that the job was done safely and properly.
  7. Never pay in full until job passes inspection with the city and is fully completed.  Upon hiring a contractor for a job you will likely be asked for a deposit, pay that and then pay as you go with the people you hire.   Never pay in full until the job is 100% completed.   If you pay in full before the job is done it is possible the job may never be completed as your tradespeople may not want to come back to finish the job since they have already been paid or your project will stop being a priority.

 

 


Call or contact me to if you have any Real Estate questions ~ I look forward to helping you.

Tara Lubin  |  Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty

REALTOR – Global Real Estate Advisor – Chicago & North Shore Suburban Chicago, Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, IL and beyond
630.707.3473   |    [email protected]   |   [email protected]