I agree that always bear in mind that not all storm-related roofing contractors in your area are reputable. Thank you for sharing this helpful knowledge with me!

Unlike others, I have had good results using Angie’s list, BUT, I read the reviews myself and contact contractors directly. I did not have a good experience with word of mouth, the GC I used for my kitchen renovation based on it was disappointing, some of his subs did sub par, in his defense he absorbed the costs of the redos and reduced my final costs. I would have rather not dealt with any of it and am now dreading finding GC to tackle our baths.

I flipped houses in IL for 9 years. I grew up there and my family was in real estate and rentals so I had a tried and true team. When I first started flipping houses I would ask for contractor recommendations at my local home improvement store. We have Menards in the Midwest and they have local contractors they recommend in every department. I found a great tile installer that way. We recently moved to IN and we purposely found a realtor who dealt with Investors and who has some experience with flips. Our realtor is a wealth of knowledge with contractors. Recently, while looking at a potential flip we had a window company out to give us a quote. We started talking to him (our realtor, my husband and my self) and he gave us several recommendations for finish contractors, handymen and more. I have found in the past that I’ve mett the BEST contractors from other contractors. Another way I’ve found them is searching what ever I need “near me” and check out reviews, call and meet with them, get quotes. But I will stick with getting recommendations from other contractors is one of the best ways I’ve found to find good quality and fair priced workers. I also tend to use small local business owners. They seem to have “skin in the game” and seem to take pride in their work and give fair prices.

Only a word of caution on Facebook – I realized AFTER hiring painter’s we chose from Facebook recommendations that the vast majority of recommendations were made by the employees or family members of the owner/employees and not actual customers. We ended up pleased with their work, but I kind of felt duped.

I always search the Facebook groups for two local areas to see past recommendations and read all the comments. I take note of the handful of companies that are recommended often and start there.

Personally, Angie’s List was AWFUL for me in Ohio. ALL the listed contractors were unavailable, no shows, or no follow up after the first quote. I was able to find subcontractors through recommendations but I have to manage them closely and make a lot of decisions myself.

We had a hallway bathroom renovated, and now a full kitchen renovation. Both times we found our contractors through our plumbers! Different plumbers each time – people will surprise you by retirement when 5 years goes by. Our contractor for the kitchen (just finished last month) was great on communication, did excellent work, and his subcontractors were superb. It probably helps that the referring plumber has an excellent reputation.

I had read about a service called Sweeten, which is free and a pretty good concept if you’re not a DIYer. We want to renovate our 20+year old kitchen and had no idea where to begin so I thought, why not try Sweeten? I posted my project and got a shortlist of vetted contractors; you connect with the companies you choose for bids (they recommend at least 3 bids). Sweeten offers a bid-leveling service to help evaluate the estimates. Once you choose a contractor you pay the deposit through Sweeten and Sweeten offers “Renovation Financial Protection” up to $50k.

I found 3 contractors and got 2 bids that were fairly close, while the 3rd was right at the top of my budget. I live in Northern Virginia and thought it shouldn’t be so difficult to find a number of contractors to choose from. I don’t know if Sweeten just hasn’t recruited enough contractors in my area or my budget was considered too low. It’s a townhouse galley kitchen and not a down to the studs reno, just removing and replacing. Our budget target is $25,000, which I think is reasonable but probably discouraged contractors who think it’s too small.

We go as local as possible.

Totally can relate to Kourtney re: contractors changing their style over time. As businesses grow, I think even good contractors can get in over their heads. Also, experiences can vary depending on what other jobs the contractor has going on. We built about five years ago, and while we love our home, we did not receive the level of service we expected based on our friends’ and neighbor’s experiences. Our builder’s unofficial project manager was his wife, and she wasn’t involved in our build because she was tied up working on a 10,000 sq ft house that had 3 times the budget as ours. We were able to hire a designer part way through the build, but it was too late to make some changes that I think would have been caught under different circumstances.

On the flip side, we’ve unfortunately been the ones before to recommend someone who did excellent work for us and then the person we gave the recommendation to experienced something completely different! And we’ve tried working with contractors that friends have used and recommended and found them to be different than what we had expected based on our friends’ experiences. So just a good rule to keep in mind: people change. Businesses grow and often that can alter the way that company is run. Or people just change as they go through life which often affects their career! So it’s important to keep in mind that consistency over a long period of time can be a really hard thing to find when hiring services from anyone in any field.

We have needed contractors many times over the years.we have renovated our homes and rental properties and have also built 2 homes. We have had the best results with recommendations from people that we trust and also by viewing actual projects completed by a contractor. My husband is an architect and really understands the entire process. He has been the manager many of our projects. We ran into some snags on the last home we built 8 years ago. We decided to take a break and let someone else manage the building of our home. Our contractor was wonderful, however, some of the subs that he hired did a subpar job. After firing some of the subs, work had to be redone to the standard required. Unfortunately, the contractor had to absorb these extra costs of time and money. If we ever do a project like this again, we will probably be on the job site for a bit each day to make sure things are getting done correctly. It is prudent to educate yourself about these things even if you have a great contractor. And don’t be afraid to voice your opinion and ask questions. My husband designs for commercial properties and he always says a sign of a good contractor is to check and see how tidy the job site is at the end of each work day. If it is cleaned up that shows a respect for the job and the work in progress.

Referrals 100% with one caveat – don’t always trust a referral from someone in the industry. They might not have the same expectations a client does. We just experienced a nightmare, drawn out renovation from a referral like this.

Both our architect and real estate agent recommended contractors to us. We met with a few and then asked for references from our top two. Even that, however, is fraught because of course they will only provide good references.

Depending on how large your city is, the building department may be able to give you some inside scoop. In our small town that was totally a thing but maybe not in a large city.

In my experience, Facebook is NOT a good way. The only way that has worked for us is a personal recommendation. Someone that has actually had work done by them and I lay eyes on that work myself. Then we try to see as much of their work in person as we can! And ask for
references. We have found several great contractors this way, and been
saved from hiring a dud. We also had to suffer through a nightmare bathroom renovation before we learned this! ALWAYS speak to several of their customers, ask a ton of questions, see as much of their work as you can yourself and just be careful. You’ll have this person in your home for possibly weeks or months so be super picky! If anything feels off, or they don’t communicate well like Julia mentioned, just don’t do it. I know from experience that having someone bad can be absolutely miserable. I’d rather wait a year for someone good than hire someone questionable! It’s your home and money on the line, but much more importantly- your peace!
Remember, some people will post names/recommendations on Facebook if someone is asking just of someone they know, or a friend, but may not have actually worked with that person.

We’re on our 2nd contractor for building a new home and we’re unhappy with him even though we asked for references and I called the references. We have had 2 instances where he did not pay the subcontractors and those subcontractors wanted to put liens against our property. I would go with a contractor who has over 10 years of experience, ask for references and go see his work. We’re asking to see copies of all the paid invoices. There are a lot of shady contractors out there.