I tried to get them to listen to me, but they thought they were experienced with con men having lived in the northeast (Connecticut and New York City) for most of their lives.

We had just came through a major hurricane and the place was rife with storm chasing contractors. Most did great work and were real heroes to people who needed a roof over their heads. A few were marginal at best and a small minority were con men. It was that small minority that gave everyone else a bad name and made the nightly news.

Mike

Too many times, I’ve seen, experienced, and witnessed home-owners accept the excuses of contractors for not giving references and those home-owners that do, usually regret it. If a contractor won’t give you some verifiable references, move on!

You give some VERY good advice on the contract. Thanks for such a great contribution to this article!

They can also pull the wool over your eyes even with sterling references. I hired a painting company a few years back. They gave me a bunch of references, all very good, but i noticed all of them had the work done in the previous year.

I asked for references from customers who had the work done severla years ago so i could see how the paint job stood up over time. The painters said they really didn’t have any becus after a while the customers who give them permission to use them as references get tired of getting repeated phone calls from people checking references. I made the mistake of accepting that explanation.

Two years later, my paint is all coming up. I tried filing a small claims suit against the company, who guaranteed in writing that the paint job would last for at least 3 years, but i couldn’t get anywhere becus one of the 2 principals i sued had gone back to Brazil. the other one i couldnt name in the suit simply because i COULD NOT READ HIS LAST NAME on his signature which appeared on my contract. I even went thru the phone book looking for all the “Andres” with a 5 letter last name starting with “P” and could not find him.

So my final word of advice, with any contractor, not just builders, is make sure you get the FULL name of the person who signs the contract and that you know how to spell it. then look that person up, not just on Angie’s List, but also check BBB and your state consumer protection board for any complaints. For peace of mind, i will also be making sure I have a street address of any business i do business with; the painting company i hired used a PO Box address, and i know that many contractors do not include their business address on their business cards. If you’re afraid of identifying yourself upfront, don’t ask for my business!