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Yoda: How do I know I can trust a contractor I am hiring?

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Many of us are doing home repairs these days. For the repairs that we can’t do on our own, we have to hire someone to do it for us. Then we end up asking ourselves the question, where do I start? Well, we would like to help you with the process.

First of all, depending on the task, figure out what type of company you need to look for, such as roofer, carpenter, flooring, etc. After you have decided on the type of company, we suggest asking people you know for referrals. Family, friends and neighbors are a great resource if they have used someone in the past that they know will do quality work. If you hit a dead-end there, then Google is a great resource. After you have found a few companies to check out — we suggest three — it is a good thing to look up the company on the Better Business Bureau website and at the Registrar of Contractors at roc.az.gov.

Make sure that the company has a positive BBB rating. And then on the ROC website you can see if there has ever been any complaints as well as how long they have been in business. They both are very helpful in making your decision.

One of the next steps to take is reading the companies’ reviews on Google. You should be looking for a lot more positive reviews than poor, and if there are negative reviews, what were they? And did the company respond?

Another good idea is asking for references. Ask if you can speak to a few former customers or see any work that they have done in person. For instance, in roofing, we give our potential customers a few addresses to drive by if they would like to look at previous roofs we have done. This is a great way to showcase our work and to make the customer more comfortable in making their decision. Yes, we can show pictures, but some people want to see it in real time, which is understandable.

After doing all of these things you should feel confident about the company/contractor that you are going to choose to do your project. At this point, call to make your appointment. It isn’t a bad idea to see how the office staff performs when calling to make your appointment, and then when they come out to do the job, make sure they are clean, professional and efficient.

It is very typical for a company to ask for a percentage down before the job begins. In most instances, materials need to be purchased and the company has to pay for labor. Some people have a hard time doing this because they are afraid of getting taken advantage of, but please realize the company is taking a chance on you as well. It works both ways. You should feel 100% confident about the company/contractor you are hiring, if you don’t, our advice is to find someone else.

With all of this being said, if you are looking for a roofing company, please take all of the steps in this article and we promise we will not disappoint.

Editor’s note: Stephanie Yoda is a service coordinator at Efficient Roofing in Apache Junction. Call 480-671-5769 for a free estimate or go to efficientroofingaz.com.