Be Careful When Choosing A Contractor To Upgrade Your Home

A while back, a family employed a contractor to finish/remodel their
basement. The contractor worked for several weeks, always making a
minimum amount of noise, picking up after him, and seemingly using the
best in materials. When he was finished, the job looked perfect. The
air conditioning functioned well; the drywall and paint that had been
applied looked well done; there were plenty of electrical sockets to
plug in to. The carpeting, tile, bedroom and bathroom seemed flawless.
In fact, the couple lived there another year, found another home,
purchased it and moved in. Then they put their re-modeled basement home
up for sale. It all happened precisely in the order just stated.

With the market the way it’s been, the sellers waited patiently for an
offer. One month passed, two, three, four and finally during the fifth
month of their listing they had an offer for only $5,000 less then they
were asking with NO additional money to be given to the credit of the
buyer out of their pocket. Knowing houses in their price range were not
selling very well, the sellers were thrilled and accepted the offer.


When it was time for the home inspection, the buyer’s inspector came out to the house. Everything passed with flying colors except,
you got it, the basement. It wasn’t about the quality of work, it was
that the contractor hadn’t been licensed (although the couple thought
he was) and as a result hadn’t acquired ONE permit!!! He hadn’t gotten a
plumbing permit, electrical, air conditioning or any other kind of
permit. The buyer had no place to live and as a result, they wanted to
close in 21 days but it took 40 additional days and a lot of money to
undo what the contractor had done and acquire the proper permits. The
young couple nearly lost the deal because the purchaser was
threatening to pull out. In reality, they were fortunate that this
property closed at all.

So what do you (the reader) need to know so that this will never happen to you? Actually, it isn’t
complicated. When you employ a contractor, follow these steps:

1) Make sure your contractor is licensed. It is important to see the
license and even look him/her up on the internet and validate whatever
you are told.
2) Make sure your contractor has adequate insurance. I was reading the other day that the best way to handle this
is to have the contractor’s insurance company send you proof of
coverage. Consider this: What if there is an accident on your property?
Who will pay? To avoid a potential lawsuit, you need proof of the
contractor’s insurance!
3) Inquire about references. Make sure that upon receiving the references you call them. Inquire about the
contractor’s work. Don’t accept just any three names but ask for
references pertaining to the last three jobs he/she performed.
4) Be sure to get any and all verbal agreements in writing. Anything you
are verbally told that is important to you should be in writing. This
includes price, time the project will begin and end.
5) Inquire about how you will pay. Specifically, what is the payment or
billing policy? Will you be required to pay something upfront? If there
is such a requirement, how much is it?
6) Follow through with having the contractor secure the proper permits. Make sure your
contractor knows you want them to get the permits. Although permits cost
you money, the inspection process is meant to protect you from poor
workmanship and to make sure that everything is being built to code.
Additionally, you won’t have a hassle over permits when one day you
decide to sell your home. Everything will have been done properly.

Finally: An experienced Realtor®, when he/she takes your listing will always ask
about improvements, permits, liens, etc…. in reference to your house.
Better to deal up front with any issue than to be caught in the middle
of a transaction and the contract as a result, falls apart.

David Burrows, Realtor®
4200 Evergreen Lane, Suite 331
Annandale, VA 22003
Email: info@burrowsproperties.com
Web: Burrows Properties
Web: Virginia Online Home Search
Web: David Burrows Propeties

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