With so many home repair services to choose from, how do you go about finding the best one? A more important question may be how to find the handyman service that best suits your individual circumstances. Before tackling this question, it might be a good idea to take a look at the current housing market in the US and how it relates to home maintenance.
Since the housing market crash in 2008, the homebuilding industry has changed dramatically. Most of the construction-related jobs that were created by the rise in property speculation have disappeared. In terms of who is now buying and selling houses, the landscape here has also changed dramatically. While there are people who still buy and fix up rental properties, and even some who buy and “renovate” homes, they tend to be professionals who have many years of experience determining the best possible opportunity. Gone are the days when anyone bought a house on easy credit and the value of the house increased in value without a second thought.
Of course, many people are upside down on their mortgages and have less equity in their homes than they owe on them. An even worse situation is in the case of those people who have lost their jobs and have gone into foreclosure on their home. For people who now have a home and a job, their main concern is maintaining the equity value of their investment, not how much money they can get in a home equity loan this year to buy that upgraded plasma TV.
house keeping
All houses require ongoing maintenance. Appliances and fixtures wear out from use and age, the ground beneath settles over time creating stress within the home’s frame, and the home’s exterior is subject to exposure to the elements and ever-present vermin, big and small ones. Many of the resulting problems can be delayed for years, or even eliminated, if the builder and his subcontractors follow best building practices and the most stringent building codes, but unfortunately this is not always the case. But in any case the wear and tear of a house will take its toll. As an investment, or as a safe environment to raise a family, a house must be taken care of.
Many homeowners are able to handle their own home repairs; They have the basic skills and the time to fix any problem that comes up in your home. Others have the skills, but don’t have the time (or after spending numerous weekends on some minor upgrades, decide their time is better spent). plumbing repair. For those fortunate enough to be able to quickly do their own work, they’re not likely to need to hire a handyman, unless they’re hiring a contractor for major remodeling projects. But for the average homeowner who works 9 to 5, qualifying for professional handyman services is a major necessity.
You can also have a home maintenance service contract. This is an expense worth budgeting for, especially if your heating or air conditioning is likely to need major work. Heck, maybe the boiler in an older house is starting to rumble. The drawback to one of these service contracts is that all the items that are not covered can be very expensive if handled through the home maintenance contract companies. However, the costs of installing a new cooling system far exceed the relatively small monthly expense of a basic service contract. Many repairs may also be covered by homeowners insurance. This is always worth checking out.
So where does one start? One probably isn’t even considering a local handyman unless there is a problem they are aware of that needs to be fixed. This could be rotten wood around the front door or a water stain on the ceiling. Most home maintenance services are advertised online, so it’s not too difficult to put together a list of handyman services fairly quickly from the Internet. This can be as simple as googling “find handyman” and the city you are in. Most of the best ones will have online reviews or testimonials about their work. If not, they are new to the business or probably not worth it. This is becoming the “price of entry” in business these days and no matter how good or bad they may be, anything less tends to disqualify them from consideration.
At this point, call from your home maintenance services listing and schedule appointments for a free estimate. Pay attention to your instincts when you meet the rep going out. How do you dress? How is it presented? Is he the person who will do the actual work or a salesperson/estimator from a larger company? A very important point is to get a list of references that you can call, of each maintenance service that you are getting a quote from. This cannot be overstated, and the more references the better.
Since you’re happy with the man (or woman) leaving, wait until you get your quote, which can be done on the spot, or sent via email or post.
Considering Handyman prices
At this point, the question is how to get the best value for your money. Your individual circumstances will have a lot to do with this question. A single mom on a budget will obviously see this question differently than the CEO of a company. However, both must consider the question of which professional handymen will get the job done right, without having to do it again at some point in the future. No one wants to pay for poor workmanship, or have a job done twice. However, someone in a better financial position will have more freedom to choose.
This does not mean that the highest price will be the best. That may have a lot to do with the specific handyman service. Some companies specialize in property maintenance, which may not require the same level of care and expertise as home repairs or renovations. It is also often a false economy to go for the lowest price, but even this is a generality. The single mom can get a firefighter who does quality repairs in her spare time and gives her a big discount because she can do it.
One should find the best handyman rates you can, but delivered with the best possible quality, as determined by the reviews, testimonials and references put forth by the local handyman repair service. It’s not necessarily an easy decision, but it can be made MUCH simpler by doing your due diligence and checking your references. A quick call to your local Better Business Bureau is also a very good idea.
Some handyman services make this decision very easy by providing excellent customer service and doing a consistently good job, and by making this known online, through testimonials and reviews, and by providing references that will explain exactly how it went. the experience of hiring them. In this case, it’s about deciding if your price fits your budget.
