QUESTIONS TO ASK PROFESSIONALS BEFORE HIRING THEM

 

When you need to hire a professional, you should have a detailed list of questions to ask them. Some of these are general and can be applied to any professionals you may hire, but many are geared at contractors and home inspectors, who may be an important part of your staging team.

General Questions
1. What are your qualifications?
2. How long have you been in this profession?
3. How long has this company been in business?
4. Can I have your complete contact information, including phone, fax, email, and website?
5. Would you be willing to give me a list of referrals that I can call?
6. Do you have pictures of your work or testimonials?
7. What training have you had? Do you participate in continuing education?
8. Are you a member of any professional associations?
9. Have you ever had any problems or difficulties with any clients in the past? What were they? Were they resolved, and if so, how?
10. Will you be giving me an itemized estimate of the costs?
11. Can you give me a detailed list of the products you will be using (name and product numbers)?
12. What is your fee schedule? Do you require a down payment? When is the balance due?
13. Are you licensed and insured? Do you have errors and omissions insurance?
14. What is your warranty on your work?
15. How will you get rid of the garbage and debris? Is that included in the estimate?
16. What is your policy for cleaning up each day?
17. What is the estimated time for completion?
18. What potential delays do you forsee? How will you handle these?
19. Who is responsible for getting permits or COs for the job?
20. Will you be employing any subcontractors? Who are they and what are their qualifications?

Some Final Tips

• Interview at least 3 professionals.
• Always check references.
• Do research for complaints and check the Better Business Bureau. Another site is RipOff Report.
• If the person is a member of a professional association for their trade, verify this with the association. Also, verify that they are in fact licensed and insured. Do the same thing for any subcontractors.
• If it’s a contractor or someone who’s work is visible, it’s okay to ask if you can see some of their prior work in person.
• Take all factors into account. Don’t always go with the highest or lowest price. The lowest price may include materials of lesser quality. The highest price could just be inflated and they still may be using lower quality products and pocketing the extra money as more profit. This is not always the case. I have come across some good, honest contractors that I would highly recommend and use again.
• Make sure you get a detailed estimate so you can compare apples to apples.
• Don’t discount the importance of personality. You are going to be working closely with this person and if you don’t get along, it’s not going to be a very pleasant process. Many people think they should just be looking at the quality of the work. While that is important, so is personality. Trust me on this one. The quality work won’t mean anything if you don’t get along and the project never gets finished.
• Warning: Don’t ever, ever, ever pay a contractor or any professional in full before the work or job is completed.

 

Always get everything in writing when dealing with any professionals -- individuals or companies.

Copyright  2009 by NobMouse

These are general questions and are mostly geared towards professionals like contractors, specialty contractors, and home inspectors. Many of them are general enough to be used for hiring any professional. Many people are starting to use home staging as a way to live in their homes, with no intention to sell, so they may need these professionals to make repairs or updates.

There are specific questions I recommend asking professionals such as real estate agents and home stagers, which I'll discuss in a future blog post. But use these questions as a guide to get your started. Above all, trust your gut and your instincts.