Too Many Home Improvement Decisions And Not Enough Answers How to make it Success

We have all heard of a homeowner getting ripped off or having a bad experience/poor end result doing a home improvement project. Home improvement complaints rank at the top every year at the Better Business Bureau and Government Consumer Affair Agencies. As I see it, the basic problem is that homeowners are not prepared to make the many “choices” involved in a home improvement project. Homeowners cannot be expected to know all the right decisions and all the necessary preventative items and provisions that will insure their project will be “problem-free”. This is not to say that there is not “advice” out there to help homeowners complete their projects, but this advice is normally very broad in nature. For example, most literature will tell you to,” Make sure you hire someone that has a license and insurance.” That is really good advice, but what type of license and what type of insurance are we talking about? What type of insurance liability amounts are appropriate? $25,000, $100,000, $250,000? Is a landscaper’s license sufficient to build an outside cabana? My point is that there are just too many questions and too many decisions, both big and small, to rely on basic how to advice. All homeowners interested in doing a home improvement project need to start off with a detailed blueprint or system that shows them exactly what to do in all phases of the project. This system needs to detail how to avoid “poor” home improvement situations. It also should be able to be used with any project, big or small. The Home Improvement Success System accomplishes this. This system covers a variety of topics that one encounters when attempting a home improvement project. This system includes an easy to follow screening procedure to evaluate candidates to do your project. The Home Improvement Success System also includes all the clauses and terms you need to add to a home improvement agreement (contract). This will insure that the project is done without the usual problems that most people encounter when they sign a poor agreement. (Worker’s not showing up, poor or no communication, jobsite behavior, costly unforeseen problems, project delays, job site conditions, responsibility and storage of materials, etc, etc, etc) This sixty-two page system tells you exactly what to do every step of the way. Here is the system’s table of contents, along with an excerpt about meeting a candidate for the first time. The Home Improvement Success System Table of Contents About the Author Preface STEP I Defining Your Project and Budget What is a Home Improvement? Project File Folder Items to Consider Before Starting a Project Categories of Work Financing Large Project or Small Project STEP II Deciding On Who Does the Project and Under What Circumstances Thinking About Doing the Project Yourself? Types of Contractors Being Your “Own General Contractor” Why You Should Not Hire Just Anybody for Your Home Improvement Project Hiring a Friend or Neighbor? Where to Find Home Improvement Candidates I Warn Homeowners to Avoid Candidates Who Come Looking For You A Word on Anyone That Comes Looking For You 5 Steps To Evaluating Home Improvement Candidates STEP 1 Check License & Better Business Bureau Record STEP 2 Making Phone Contact STEP 3 Candidate Interview Large Company or Small Company STEP 4 Contacting References STEP 5 Evaluating Your Candidates Case Study-Kitchen Remodel Preparing a Contract Contract Sample Change Orders Building Permits & CO’s STEP III Production of Your Project Project File Punch Lists If Problems Arise Forms and Self Test Self-Test Project Specification Sheet Estimate Form Waiver of Lien Sample Right of Rescission Sample Candidate Evaluation Sheet Example of Labor Warranty Conclusion Here is an excerpt from The Home Improvement Success System that describes what you and your candidate need to bring to your first meeting. “Ask the candidate to bring these items to your first meeting: