How To Hire The Right Handyman For Your Home Repair Or Improvement Project
As a property owner, at some point, you will require the services of a handyman. A handyman’s skills can make them offer a wide range of home improvement tasks and home repairs. Whether you want your house painted, you want to install new shelves and cabinets, or hang pictures and curtains, the best person you can talk to is a handyman.
But with so many handymen available today, how can you be sure you are hiring the right one? Well, this article discusses tips to help you hire the right handyman. Let’s delve into them.
One of the first things you need to do before you hire a handyman is to fully understand the project you want them to handle. Do you want them to repair your roof, paint your wall, tighten a leaky faucet, or clean the gutters? Thankfully, a handyman can do lots of tasks. So whichever project it is, you can be sure they will handle it.
Having all the details about your project ready can help you ensure that the handyman has the skills to perform the job and can also give you an accurate quote. It can also help you reduce time wastage.
Once you have understood your project and all that it entails, it is time to start looking for the right handyman for the project. There is no better way to go about this than doing your own thorough research. Ask your friends, colleagues, and family for recommendations of the best handyman they know. You can also check on job sites such as Craigslist. You can then list down all the names of the handymen you are provided with so that you can research more about them individually.
Now that you have a list of the recommended handymen, it is time to do your research on them. And the first thing you need to start with is their qualifications. You want to ensure that the handyman you hire is adequately qualified for the job.
A good handyman must have some kind of training to sharpen their skills and expertise to perform various home improvement and home repair tasks. They can achieve this by enrolling intraining institutions such as vocational institutes or technical schools.
Other than qualifications, you also want to ensure that the handyman is highly experienced. Working with a very experienced handyman can make a huge difference. It means that your project will be done perfectly, giving you value for your money.
To gauge the experience of the handyman, you need to ask them how long they have been in the industry and what is their experience regarding your project. A handyman that has been in the industry for several years is more experienced than a handyman that’s just getting started. In addition, a handyman that has handled projects similar to yours is more likely to do an excellent job. So if you are looking for excellent services, it is better to work with a highly experienced handyman.
Another important thing you need to pay attention to when hiring a handyman is a license. A reliable and trustworthy handyman must have a license. This proves that he is qualified to offer his services. Check if the handyman is a member of a professional or trade organization such as the United Handyman Association [UHA] or Association of Certified Handyman Professionals [ACHP]. If the handyman cannot provide you with their license number, that’s a red flag that you must not ignore.
Of course, you want to ensure that the handyman you hire has a solid track record. Allowing someone on your property with a tainted reputation is risky. To gauge the reputation of the handyman, read online reviews about him. It can be on the handyman’s site or review websites. See what people are saying about him regarding his customer service and range of services. If you find that the handyman has more negative reviews than positive ones, it would be better to look for another handyman.
If you want to determine the quality of work of the handyman, then it is important that you take a look at his portfolio. Take your time and check his past projects as well as the current ones he is working on. Pay close attention to pictures of projects similar to yours. Of course, if the handyman cannot provide you with their portfolio, that’s a red flag that you must not ignore if you want the best outcome for your project. After all, how else can you know the quality of work the handyman does if there is no proof to show for it?
Now that you have gathered all of the necessary details about a handyman and are convinced that he is the perfect match for the job, it is time to agree on how the work will be done. What’s the timeline for the project? You can sit down and agree with the handyman beforehand when he should complete the project. If the project drags more than it should, it will cause financial strains- something you wouldn’t want. That’s why before you sign any contract, you must agree with the handyman when they should complete the project.
Finally, you need to agree with the handyman on how payment will be done. Is it a full payment before the project kicks off or pay half before and the rest after the project? It is advisable to pay a handyman deposit and clear the rest once he completes the project. This way, the handyman will strive to do the job perfectly so that he can get the rest of the money. If you find a handyman who is demanding full payment before he even starts your project, it’s best to look for another one instead. The last thing you want is to lose your hard-earned cash.