Have you ever read a Craigslist, or any other, ad looking for remodeling or repair help? Maybe you’ve actually posted such an ad? If we shopped for medical aid this way healthcare costs would be much lower, right?
"Date: 2011-05-10, 7:09AM
Reply to: Unskilled Labor
Need a 30x30 room plastered/drywalled and prime/ painted (2 coats)
We have all materials.
Couple days work, $100.00 (cash) for the job once finished
Please email your angies list verification page and a brief description of your company, also your bid for the job (if willing to do it less than $100).
* Location: USA
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
* Compensation: $100.00"
1. Always offer to pay in cash. This way you give the impression to the prospective bidder you are willing to become an accomplice by potentially skirting any State or Federal obligations.
2. Always state in the ad exactly how much you expect to pay. The contractor will be immensely relieved that there will be no need to waste time writing a bid or calculating what overhead costs are needed to stay in business so that they may do jobs for you in the future. Best of all you might be contacted by someone who is willing to do it for less than offered. What could go wrong?
"Need someone with a small tractor to move about 100 yds. of dirt in tight areas, scrape new grass to form a firebreak and scrape a driveway. 1/2 to 3/4 day maximum. (Do not need someone to tell me it will take a full day or more, or to show me how to "milk" a job!)."
3. Always tell the potential “contractor” how long it will take to do the job. This will put the “contractor” more at ease when dealing with you; they will realize immediately that you know way more about their trade than they do. Taking the time to research the time it takes to perform a task on www.howlongdoesittake.com shows you won’t be just any pain in the rear customer.
4. Always request a bid for your project by describing the scope of work in your ad. Who needs the aggravation of contractors tramping through your home? How much can such things as site conditions or matching existing material matter? What if the contractor had some ideas to improve the end product or make it less costly? What a bother.
"….If this job is finished to my satisfaction I have many other jobs to do around my house."
5. Always promise more work. What contractor worth their salt wouldn’t want to bid a job cheaper on the hazy promise of more work in the future? We all know you can lose money on projects as long as you make up for it by the number of jobs you do.
To be clear the person writing these types of ads or email are most likely not looking for a real contractor, they are looking for someone likely unlicensed, uninsured and not knowing the real costs of doing business.
To be fair not all homeowners are searching for contractors with the same goal in mind. Maybe some have been misled by how-to television shows or websites that portray to know the “right” way to find a contractor. I’m not saying don’t use Craigslist or whatever else you use to find someone to work on your house I am saying there are better ways to go about finding someone to work on your biggest investment.
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