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Your home is your haven and something you have worked very hard for. It is where you build your family and celebrate the milestones in your life. Owning a home is no doubt you have worked very hard to do and maintaining your home is something that goes hand in hand with being a homeowner.<\/p>\n

Beyond ordinary maintenance, enhancing your living space with home improvement projects as your family grows, is something many homeowners do.<\/p>\n

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Home improvement projects are abundant, and they are easily one of the best ways to update your home and make it more functional for your needs.\u00a0 However, not all of us have the time or the skill to perform these projects ourselves. That is why we choose to hire a professional contactor.<\/p>\n

Contractors vary in skill and qualifications. When you end up hiring a bad contractor, you run the risk of shoddy workmanship or worse, you may even end up with an unfinished home improvement project. Both scenarios mean that you\u2019ve just thrown your hard-earned money down the drain.<\/p>\n

So, what are the red flags that you be aware of when looking for a contractor for your next home improvement project?<\/p>\n

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Poor Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n

The lack of reviews or worse, the presence of negative reviews should already be an indication that the particular contractor does not perform well. Background checks<\/a><\/u> are also necessary when you want to make sure that your hard-earned money goes somewhere worthwhile.<\/p>\n

References also work in the same way in that they provide you with a glimpse of a contractor\u2019s work ethic and whether or not they truly deliver results.<\/p>\n

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No Proposal<\/strong><\/p>\n

A good contractor is going to be able to plan for the entire project, from start to finish. They\u2019re going to be able to determine the time needed as well as the materials required to get the job done.<\/p>\n

They should present you with a clear proposal for your to review. If your contractor asks for unlimited time as well as unlimited materials, then you\u2019re just asking to get overcharged for the project. Walk away if this is the case.<\/p>\n

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Overpromising<\/strong><\/p>\n

If something sounds too good to be true, it isn\u2019t. That old adage is almost always correct, and this situation is no exception. Before you sign a contract, you need to do a bit of research on how much the project is going to cost to complete.<\/p>\n

This site<\/a><\/u> should provide you with a comprehensive idea of the price of materials. Use this as a point of reference for when you want to see if a contractor is offering you a low price that\u2019s too good to be true.<\/p>\n

Lack of Construction Permits<\/strong><\/p>\n

When a contractor dismisses building permits as unnecessary expenses, you should already be raising an eyebrow. Permits are standard procedure, as well as the inspections that precede their release. You aren\u2019t only risking your project getting shut down. You\u2019re also risking your safety and that of the people around you.<\/p>\n

Luckily, if a faulty construction should result in injury to you or anyone in your house, you do have legal remedies<\/a><\/u> that should help you along the way.<\/p>\n

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This is a collaborative guest post, the words and views do not necessarily reflect those of Mommy Ramblings.<\/p>\n