Picking a good General Contractor is critical to the succesful sale of your home. Let's examine what makes a good contractor by starting with what could happen if you choose the wrong one.
- Your sale will be delayed.
- The repairs will end up costing more due to having to hire another GC to finish the job.
- Your sale could fall apart if repairs are not done satisfactorily and buyer chooses to termintate the contract.
- If the result is a lost sale becuase of poor workmanship, the buyer can sue for reasonable damages associated with the breach including; inspection fees, full refund of Earnest Money deposit and Due Diligence funds, etc.
Knowing how crucial the contractor is an obvious good first step. Let's see what makes a good contractor. Lifehacker has a pretty good post on the subject of hiring the right contractor for repairs. Below are some tips to follow when hiring a GC.
- LICENSED. A Contractor should be insured and have all of the proper licenses.
- REFERENCES. A contractor should have plenty of legit references.
- ITEMIZATION. A contractor should be willing to itemize the job with an estimate for materials and labor. They should also stay within that estimate unless they discover a problem, then they should contact the person who hired them beofore proceeding to undertake additional repairs.
- REPORT. A contractor should be able to provide a report of the what work was done to satisfy the particular repair item on the inspection report.
- COMPLETE. A contractor should be available to return quickly to fix any items that may have been missed.
With the necessity of so many things needing to go right within a real estate transaction, choosing the right contractor can make things go smooth. Choosing the wrong one can be a headache.
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