Bad Things Evil Home Improvement Contractors May Do To You

Evil contractors may have a number of slimy techniques to mislead or even scam their clients. A common scam is the “two-thirds” tactic. In this situation, the contractor asks for two-thirds of the value of the project, they would do little work and then never show up again. It is important to be aware that scammers can be knowledgeable, helpful, charismatic and entirely lovable. He could make everything sounds fair, including when he asks you to pay two-thirds of the value of the project. It means that you already pay so much even before the contractor swings a hammer. Scammers will try hard to gain as much leverage as possible, without leaving you any. As an example, the contractor may work slowly and make intentional small mistakes to aggravate you, causing you to fire him. Unfortunately, you can’t ask the payment back, because you agree to an unspecific contract. Scams can be avoided rather easily if you have proper contract.

Scammers can actually be exceptional scammers, they will have amazing sales presentation and they will show you pictures of nice houses. In this case, the contractor may not flee the construction scene, but they could still finish the job, but with inferior materials, leaving them with a huge sum of hidden profit. Home owners won’t realize it, until things start to fail and crumble. Again, the contract has no clear components for warranties and guarantees, allowing the contractor to get away with their scam. The contract should mention the brand of the materials and include all the specific details. It means that home owners need to make their research and become more knowledgeable about what they should have in the house. The contract doesn’t have to be complicated, but it needs to be clear and specific. Even if we have a relatively clear contract, it is still possible for bad contractors to spike the deal.

The “spiking the deal” trick starts when bad contractors lowball their prices significantly below their honest and reliable competitors. Uninformed house owner may choose the bad contractor, although they don’t really have an idea how it’s possible to make profit with such a low project cost. After part of the house is dismantled, house owners are legally married to the bad contractor and they have almost no hope of separation. There will be small extra charges here and there, that may cause the total cost of the project higher than what a honest contractor is actually willing to get. The problem can be avoided if you know all the cost components to the smallest details. They need to be included in the project and the contract must contain a “No Extra Charge” clause.

Many people find that these tricks can be rather hard to avoid and solve. However, your chance of getting scammed will be much less if you stick with reputable and well known home improvement contractors in the area. Their prices could be slightly higher, but often that’s all what you have to pay and it can be assured that they will get the job done.