Nobody expects for a hurricane to hit, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to be prepared if one does, especially for those living in hurricane prone zones. Wind, debris and water are all types of damage your home can suffer when a hurricane strikes. With a little advanced planning you can have an action plan in the event that you need it after a hurricane. Within that plan, ensure that you have all the right tips for choosing a contractor. There’s nothing worse than being in the midst of a natural disaster and not being able to think clearly while you are trying to make incredibly important decisions. Use the tips below to help narrow down the choices should you ever need to find someone for hurricane damage to your home.
Knowledge
Know exactly what you want before you begin looking for a contractor to repair your home’s hurricane damage. Know whether you need roof replacement, water damage and flooding treatment. Knowing exactly what you want done will help to keep contractors from taking advantage of you.
Signing Contracts
Don’t sign a contract for the entire amount of work to be completed. Make sure the contract is broken down into steps of when the work will be done. This gives the opportunity to check work and ask questions before the entire process is completed. This can end up saving time and money in the long run.
Talk, talk and talk.
Talk to a minimum of three different contractors to get an estimate of the cost to repair your hurricane damage. This can help give you an idea of what you are looking to spend. You don’t want to go with the cheapest because the quality of work may not be up to par, and you don’t want to get ripped off either. Three different contractors can give you an idea of what you are looking at so you can find someone within that price range.
Don’t Pay Upfront
You should not have to pay for the entire project upfront. You should only pay up to 10% for your contractor to begin the hurricane damage repair. Do not pay the final payment until the job is 100% done. Once the job is done and you are satisfied with the work then make the final payment.
Ask Questions
Ask questions before signing a contract. Ask about licensing, ask about customer reviews, ask about other jobs that the contractor has done. Ensure that they can take on this type of work and they have done it before and make sure that their previous clients were happy with their work.
Insurance
Double check with your insurance company to make sure that they will cover the work. Make sure that you can use the contractor that you have chosen, and that you’re not required to use one of their chosen contractors. Make sure that you understand how much insurance is going to pay and how much you will have to pay out of pocket either for the deductible, or because it is not covered by insurance. This information can help you avoid surprises once the hurricane damage repair is complete.
Contractors may seem like a dime a dozen, and most times after storms and natural disasters they seem to come out of the wood works. This is when the most caution should be taken before hiring one. The remodeling industry is a strong industry that continues to grow averaging an annual growth of 3.9%, which means homeowners must be choosy and do their homework.The entire industry together has more than 650,000 employees, however 92% of those firms have less than 20 employees. This means that you pretty much see the whole crew while they are working, so choosing the right one will be the most beneficial.
