Last July my wife’s grandmother broke her hip. As a result, we decided to remodel our basement to include a new bathroom, kitchen and bedroom so she could spend some time with us while she recuperated. In the process of finding a contractor, we auditioned over 10 companies. Once we were able to narrow it down to three contractors, we went about the selection process. We asked for references, went to their current job sites and viewed past work. All three seemed legitimate and all three seemed knowledgeable. In the end we went with the lowest bid and paid him a 50% down payment to get started.
We went through what we believed were the necessary steps to help insure we hired a legitimate contractor. We did a check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and we ran a criminal and civil background check in Johnson County (where we live). Both times, no results were found. We asked him if he was licensed, bonded, and insured to build in Johnson County. His response was he was fully qualified as a contractor in Johnson County and we left it at that.
What we didn’t do is what hurt us. Being relatively new homeowners, we didn’t know the process of getting the proper building permits, verifying insurance, contractor licenses, etc.
We didn’t know that before any work was to begin on any jobsite, a building permit was required. To apply for a building permit, a contractor has to be fully licensed and insured. When we asked our contractor where the permit was, he stalled. He stalled because he had lied to us about being insured and properly licensed. When we halted all work until a permit was produced, that was the last we heard from him. This left us with a demolished basement and a handicapped grandmother still needing a place to stay.
Things we learned:
- No work is to begin until a building permit is displayed.
- Always request to see a copy of current licenses, insurance and other qualifications.
- Expand your background check. It turns out this contractor did the majority of his dirty work in Jackson County (a neighboring county just across the state line) and crossed the border to get new work. If we would have expanded the criminal and civil checks to include more of the greater KC Metro area, we would have found a lengthy rap sheet.
- Try services such as Angie’s List, which is a user review based listing of contractors for specific cities. It’s a subscription-based service, but well worth the $40 annual fee to have access to a wealth of contractor and service provider reviews. We ultimately found our new contractor from there.
In the end we were able to find a contractor to complete our remodel and my wife’s grandmother was able to stay with us as she recuperated from hip surgery. The initial contractor is also sitting in jail on felony fraud and deceptive criminal practice charges. My wife and I are a little lighter in the pocket book, but a lot more savvy on contractors now.
If you have any questions on steps you can take to avoid a similar experience, feel free to give me a call.
Quotes
“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
Henry Ford – inventor and founder of Ford Motor Company
“The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance.”
Confucius, philosopher
“He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year.”
Leonardo da Vinci, inventor, scientist, artist, writer …
Toan Nguyen
Director of Operations
Integrity Investment Advisors
12721 Metcalf, #202
Overland Park, KS 66213
tnguyen@iia-kc.com
913-897-2074
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