Hiring tradesmen?

Every homeowner eventually needs to hire a professional for help with maintenance, repairs or improvements. If you are like me, you™ll worry about whether this professional will do the job well and on time. There are no guarantees. Do your homework on any professional you hire. The time you spend up front in research may reduce dollars spent and eliminate many  headaches.  

Finding reputable trade professionals

The best way to find a pro is from a personal referral. Reach out to your neighbors, friends, and colleagues and see if they can recommend someone.

You can search for licensed tradespeople. In Massachusetts check out the following:

Home Improvement Contractors: http://www.state.ma.us/bbrs/Hicsearch.htm  

Electricians, Plumbers, or Gas Fitter: http://license.reg.state.ma.us/pubLic/licque.asp?color=green

Asbestos Abatement or Lead Contractors: http://www.mass.gov/dos/forms/index.htm#Lists.  

Try looking in the Yellow Pages. You can go the old school and search through the big yellow book or can find the same version online. If  trade professional has ad, they probably have been in business for some time and won™t be fly by nights. Though, no guarantees on this.  Check out to their address online via one of the many direction/map providers.  Also, call and ask some preliminary questions.  This  quick research  won™t cost you anything  but a little time.

Go to the Internet to learn about reputations. Kudzu.com focuses on home service providers. Yelp.com is a great resource for user-submitted reviews. The Better Business Bureau has bbb.org. Lots of people Twitter about their experiences, too. Twitter has a great search capability, so definitely check it out.  

One thing you have to understand about consumer reviews: people are much more likely to post negative experiences than positive. You might think that a million positive reviews must be great, but some businesses have been known to game the system by posting their own reviews. So it is important to check believability, determine relevance to your situation, and use judgment.  

Contact trusted tradesmen you have used in the past for trade professionals they work with or will recommend. If you are happy with the quality of work they did for you and their work style, they are likely to have a good recommendation.  

œRelevance to your situation is an important consideration. For example, if you want to repair your porch steps, don™t call a luxury home builder.You want your guy to show up, fix the steps and go home, rather than taking calls about his next big deal.

How long has your professional been in business and how many jobs has he/she completed? Your contractor should have an extensive list of recommendations, not just 5 or 6. Recommendations should be more in like 30+, 50+, 100+, etc. depending on years in the business and size of job. What is his typical job? Does your contractor build 6,000+ square foot custom homes or 1,600 square foot base grade ranches? Does he typically rehab homes or do one room additions?  

The bottom line: do your research! Get as much information as you can. Lack of research could cost you time, money, and stress.

The housing market is recovering, as more home buyers are taking advantage of improved affordability. With mortgage rates hovering around recent record lows and home prices having generally stabilized, economists are expecting an upward trend to a healthy and sustainable level in 2011. Encouraging signs are showing up across the economy. Retail sales recently hit their highest level since before the recession. Key measures of small and big businesses™ optimism marched back up to prerecession levels and new claims for jobless benefits are trending lower. Together they bode well for steady job creation and improved consumer confidence which is generally manifested in more spending.

As the economy improves, current stimulus efforts by the government and the Federal Reserve Board are expected to gradually wind down. Meanwhile, serious buyers stand to benefit from historically favorable buying conditions.

Home Sales

Existing home sales resumed on an upward trend since bottoming in July. Sales activity rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million in November. This was up 22% from July and 5.6% above the 4.43 million level in October, but remained 27.9% below the 6.49 million tax credit rush a year ago. As steady job creation is expected to continue, industry experts are hopeful for 2011.

In this post I’m listing ways in which you can protect your home. The more of these recommendations you can follow, the better.

• Install a security system with monitoring for break-ins, fire, temperature alert (protects against freezing temperature levels which could pose a danger to your homes pipes, especially important on vacation homes), carbon monoxide. Include interior sensors and sensors on all windows and doors.
• Add motion-activated lights on the exterior.
• Upgrade to Grade 1 or Grade 2 deadbolt locks.
• Attach strike plates through door framing.
• Secure windows and patio doors with locking pins or dowels.
• Secure storage shed doors and windows.
• Use timers on lights and/or radio when away.
• Stop mail and news paper deliveries while away.
• Don’t announce your travel plans to anyone but trusted friends and family. Additionally, don’t announce travel plans on Face Book, Twitter, etc.
• Trim back shrubs surrounding home.
• Don’t keep spare home lock out keys in obvious places (i.e. under a door mat) or allow people to see you locate the key. Also, alert you kids into not sharing this information with friends.
• Keep doors, garage, and windows locked at all times.
• Be aware of GPS tracking of your phone and laptops. As technology gets more sophisticated so won’t the crooks.

I advocate security systems, but understand that not everyone can afford one. A security system stopped intruders entering my home. The intruders got through a first floor window, but the internal senor sounded the alarm and a police officer was sent out to our property. Due to the security system, the only damage the house sustained was a couple of marks on the windowsill and a window lock replacement. This damage was nothing compared to what could have been done to my house and its contents.

Also, I get peace of mind from fire, carbon monoxide, and temperature alert sensors. You need to pay for the sensors, but the monthly fee for my system is fixed independent of the number of sensors. Most companies run specials throughout the year that offer a base system and installation free. Also, the companies will normally give you other components at a discount as well. Make sure you get everything in on the initial appointment since additions will cost you more. I had to add an extra carbon monoxide sensor after a fire department inspection and  paid full retail price.

Don’t underestimate knowledge sharing of vacations, times out of your home etc. This is especially true with Face Book, Twitter, children, etc. Also, I shouldn’t leave out GPS on phones and on laptops. Ever noticed that Google has asked whether they can track your location?

Remember to protect yourself and your family. Though, nothing is foolproof. Keep up with the tradeoffs of technology. Technology can help to keep you safe, but can also be used against you.  Big Brother and anyone else could be watching you. Knowledge is your best friend and decisive action can help protect your home.