Introduction

If you’re looking for a general contractor to do your next home remodel here are a couple of things that I think you should be on the lookout for and maybe are some reasons why you shouldn’t hire somebody and then hopefully we’ll talk about some items that you should hire somebody for those being character traits.

Communication Issues

So, first thing I would say is if you have a general contractor, and they’re hard to reach, you can’t get hold of them like trying to get a price, and it’s like taking them a long time that’s not a great sign because if you’re saying, “Hey I want to give you money,” and they don’t even want to pick up the phone, how are they going to be when you’ve given them the money? So that’s one thing to consider.

Personal Appearance and Professionalism

The next thing would be their personal appearance. Do they show up in a clean truck? Do they show up clean? Do they come professional? Do they have a polo on, or are they at least clean? Are they taking notes? Those are just some things to look at regarding how they are coming into the process of walking through your home.

Focus on Your Project

And the last one would be, do they talk a lot about what they’ve done, where they’ve been, and how great they are, and they’re not even talking about your project? That, to me, is a big concern because they’re not really focused on your project; they’re just focused on closing the deal and getting you on as a client so they can get paid rather than making sure that they’re actually a good fit.

Positive Traits: Asking Questions

Some green flags that I see with general contractors that you should consider to hire would be, do they ask you a lot of questions? For example, you say, “Hey, I want to move this wall,” and they ask, “Well, why do you want to move that wall?” and you say, “Oh, I want to open up the space,” and they say, “Well, why do you want to open up the space?” Digging deeper with these questions really gets to why you’re trying to do what you’re trying to do. I think when someone’s asking you those, that’s a green flag. That means they’re thinking very critically and deeply about the project, and if someone’s talking about you, they probably don’t have time to talk about themselves.

Punctuality

So the next one would be, do they show up on time, or better yet, something my dad always said is that “on time is late and early is on time.” Do they show up early? That’s a big green flag. If someone’s showing up 10 or 15 minutes early, they’re preparing before they’re going to walk in. They care about how they present themselves; that’s a big green flag.

Effective Communication

And then the last one would just be their general communication: do they pick up the phone when you call, or at least, when you call them, does it go to voicemail? Is their voicemail not full? And then, second to that, do they shoot you a text within an hour or so because people are busy, and they say, “Hey, sorry, I missed your call. I’ll get back to you,” or “I’ll give you a call shortly. Is there anything you want to talk about over text right this second?” These are some green flags.

Evaluating Red and Green Flags

So, I think if you’re seeing the red ones, maybe don’t hire them, and if you’re seeing the green flags, consider them. And don’t just consider the one contractor who does it; hopefully, multiple contractors or all of the ones that you have bidding on your house do these things. Because honestly, I think it’s fair to assume that we’re fair to expect that everyone who’s in business should behave with these green flags. Red flags are just unacceptable in this day and age. You shouldn’t have a full voicemail. You should be able to pick up the phone. You should be able to text someone if you don’t pick it up. You should be able to wear a polo. You can get one from Walmart for five or ten bucks. It doesn’t cost a lot to be professional, though it takes the actual action of going and caring enough to do it. So hire somebody who cares about themselves, because if they care about themselves, if they care about their company, they’re going to care about your project.

Indicators of a Professional Contractor

Typically, if you see a contractor with a really nice website, with a lot of reviews, and a really nice social media page, or you see them wear a really nice polo with their brand on it, they have a hat on, they pull up in a very clean truck, and they come in with an iPad, maybe have some scanners and ask a lot of questions. Maybe they even have a survey or a presentation; they even have things prepped for you, like documents. As far as other companies go, they’re sharing resources with you; they post blogs. It’s a mouthful, but if they care about their business that much to do all these things, how much more are they going to care about your project? When you know there’s money tied to it, it means that they care about their reputation, so they’re going to do a good job on your project because they care.

Conclusion

And so that’s why I say those are green flags, and why I say red flags are people like, “I don’t have a website, I don’t need that, I don’t need to market, or I don’t need to post on social media. I get plenty of business from word of mouth.” Well, that might be great for you, but to me, I actually want someone who cares about winning my business and actually wants to work with me because they like the project. So, I think that’s a very big way to look for the right contractor. Just look for those green flags and be repetitive, but again, look for the right people to do your job.