Important Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Contractor
Is The Contractor Financially Qualified?
A financially qualified contractor has the following attributes. We strongly advise you verify these before choosing your contractor. It will be the difference between getting your upgraded house when you expect and delays beyond your control.
- Adequate working capital
- Long-standing vendor & subcontractor relationships
- A verifiable history of completing on time and on budget
- Provides accurate, complete bids
- Responds timely
Will the project be completed on time?
Negotiating a committed start and completion date with the contractor is recommended. Again, please choose a financially qualified contractor. They will have all materials on site before they’re needed and have a 3-5 person crew working on your house daily. This is the best way to assure your house is completed when you expect.
Will the contractor provide the quality of work that you expect?
This is best determined by visiting at least three of the contractor’s recent projects. When searching for a contractor, we also recommend asking friends, family, neighbors, and local supply houses. If you choose to use websites like Angi’s, Houzz, and Home Advisor, please do so very carefully.
Please read and understand the following carefully, seek your attorney’s advice and ask us any questions you may have prior signing this agreement or selecting your contractor.
The contractors being referred are those who have completed at least 1 project with a renovation loan. We do not under any circumstances or in any way make any representations or warranties about any contractor’s pricing, performance, reliability or work quality.
Client understands and agrees that finding, selecting, managing and communicating with all contractors remains their sole responsibility.
This hold harmless agreement is being entered into by Professional Home Inspections of NJ, llc, its employees, affiliates, agents and/or subcontractors, (“PHI”) and (“Client”)
Hold Harmless. Client agrees, to the fullest extent provided by law to hold, Professional Home Inspections of NJ, llc, (“PHI”) their owners, lender clients, employees, affiliates, agents and/or subcontractors, harmless and that PHI will not have any liability for claims, losses, costs, damages of any nature whatsoever or claims expenses from any cause or causes, including attorneys’ fees and costs and all other dispute related costs from any matters arising from a contractor dispute of any kind from any referred contractor or any subcontractor or supplier thereof. This limitation shall apply regardless of the cause of action or the legal theory pled or asserted specifically including, but not limited to, negligence. This clause is a material inducement for the Client and PHI to enter into this agreement.
Contractor vetting, selection and management is entirely the Client’s responsibility. Contractor selection is probably the most important choice you will make as part of your renovation project. You will want to answer 3 main questions about any prospective contractor before agreeing to let him work on your property. Will the work be completed on budget, on time and to the quality you expect? Budget is what is controlled by the specification of repairs. The total of the work cannot exceed the total budgeted plus contingency in the specification of repairs. If it does Client must pay the difference from funds other than the renovation loan proceeds. On time performance can best be managed through negotiating committed start and completion dates with your contractor. Quality is best determined by visiting at least 3 recently completed projects and interviewing previous clients about the contractor’s quality, performance and whether or not they completed the work on budget.
We strongly recommend adhering to all of this advice and consulting with your attorney prior to selecting your contractor.
If any court declares any provision of this Agreement invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in effect. This Agreement represents the entire agreement between the parties. All prior communications are merged into this Agreement, and there are no terms or conditions other than those set forth herein. No statement or promise of PHI shall be binding unless reduced to writing and signed by PHI. This Agreement shall be binding upon and enforceable by the parties and their heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assignees.
