How To Choose Your Handyman

Finding and working with a quality Handyman or Contractor is an essential part of home ownership. They can help you quickly tackle your never-ending list of small home repair projects, and they can also perform major renovations that are too large to be handled by yourself.   Learning how to choose a good handyman is crucial. Without careful selection, you may end up overpaying or receiving poor quality work or incomplete projects.

A good handyman will:

  • will perform high-quality work
  • charge a reasonable market acceptable rate
  • will be punctual, reliable and honest
  • will be respectful of you and your home.
  • Will clean up after him or herself.

5 Steps To Choosing Your Handyman

  1. Ask friends and family members for referrals.  The best way to source a good handyman is to start by asking those around you. Many friends and family members who own homes will have already established a relationship with a local business and will be able to recommend one or advise against another. This step will give you access to honest feedback.
  2. Look for contractors online. To boost your search from friends and family, search for handymen online. Customer review websites can helpful for assessing contractors, and specialized sites offer directories of service professionals like handymen. Always check out your referral's website for recent jobs, testimonials etc..
  3. Search for good feedback or possible complaints. You can check a small business using the Better Business Bureau's website. Higher recommended sources are Your local Chamber of Commerce, Board of Trade, or business association.  If any major complaints have been registered against the contractor, you will be able to read the details of those complaints, or obtain useful feedback to help you choose.
  4. Ask for estimates from several different handymen. Once you've found several potential handymen through referrals or online research, get several of them to come to your home and offer an estimate on your project. This will allow you to meet them in person, determine whether or not they are punctual, and see how their pricing compares. The lowest bid is not always the right one.  Make sure you judge on promptness, presentation, cleanliness, .. did they remove their shoes when they came in?  Were they on time for your meeting?
  5. Detail the project in writing.   Even for small jobs, you should request an outline of the work to be done and what the estimate or cost will be.  Having it in writing keeps everybody on the same page and clear on details.