Planning and designing your new sunroom addition is very exciting. But don’t get so excited that you forget to “look before you leap.” If you hire the lowest bidder, but fail to check references and reviews, you might end up in a world of regret. Here is a simple guide on how to check references and reviews of your chosen sunroom contractor before signing on the dotted line.
Check Reviews
You might already be in the habit of checking Google reviews before you buy anything, go anywhere, or hire anyone. But don’t forget there are other major review websites to look at — namely Yelp and Facebook.
Whether a company’s star average is low or high, look at the total number of reviews. The higher the number of reviews, the more accurate the average rating will be.
Check References
Don’t be afraid to ask your potential sunroom contractor for references. They might have a list ready to go, or they might have to contact a few former customers to get their permission to use them as references.
When you are able to contact a reference, ask them questions about the stuff that’s important to you. For example, if it really gets on your nerves when people don’t respond to your messages quickly, you should ask, “Did this contractor have quick communication with you?”
Are you in a neighborhood Facebook group? It wouldn’t hurt to ask other group members if anyone has already used this contractor, and if so, how their experience was.
Check for License, Insurance, and Bonding
If you want to know all the scary pitfalls of hiring an unlicensed, uninsured, or unbonded sunroom contractor, you can find those here, but here’s a summary: you should always ask for your contractor’s proof of license, insurance, and bond. If they beat around the bush and have excuses for not having proof, move along to the next candidate.
If they aren’t licensed in your state, they will have no incentive to produce quality work, follow building codes, or pull permits.
If they don’t have liability insurance, you would have to foot the bill for damage caused to your property. If they don’t have workers’ compensation insurance, you could be liable for the medical bills and lost wages of a worker injured on your property.
If they aren’t bonded, and they had to stop work for some reason, you would have to pay out of pocket for another contractor to finish the job.
After You Check References, Check Financing Off Your List
While you spend your time picking the perfect sunroom contractor, HFS Financial is here to help you pick the perfect sunroom loan. It only takes a few minutes to apply and then discuss your options with one of our loan experts. The best part is your loan will be funded up front, so your contractor won’t have to wait on stage funding.
Learn more about sunroom financing and call us at 1-800-254-9560 with any questions. With HFS Financial, “You Dream It, We Finance It!”