9 Guaranteed Ways to Find a Great Contractor
Updated: Jan 26, 2021
Here Are 9 Ways You Can Find a Great Contractor For Your Renovation Project
Let’s be honest. Contractors have a bad reputation. Many homeowners have concerns about whether they’re working with a legit contractor or someone who wants to scam them and runoff.
I once heard a story about how a homeowner hired a contractor to do a $60,000 job. Everything seemed on the up and up:
All of their paperwork checked out.
They allegedly had licenses.
They said all the right things.
The homeowner paid the contractor the full $60,000 upfront, and the contractor was never heard from again.
Yikes!!!
I, too, hired a contractor who consistently lied to me telling me work was completed; meanwhile, it wasn’t. Most of what they did was cover up stuff up, hide it, and lie about it.
I didn’t lose $60,000, but I lost enough.
I’m going to teach you how you can find a great contractor, and how to properly pay your contractors so you can avoid the fate of many unfortunate homeowners out there.
1. Yelp
Yelp is a great way to look for local contractors who have already been used by other residents in your city.
When looking for contractors on Yelp, thoroughly read all of the reviews. Check to see if people mention the following:
They showed up on time.
They listened to your needs.
They came in on budget.
They fixed any issues without giving you a hard time.
If the contractor you’re looking for has mostly positive reviews, and one bad one that trashes them, maybe they had a bad day. No one is perfect.
Contractors with mostly negative reviews should be avoided. And contractors with no reviews, well, use them at your own risk! Someone has to be the first to try them out, right?
Yelp does not allow businesses to remove reviews and discourages business owners from soliciting reviews of any kind.
Let’s take a look at searching for Contractors directly on Yelp.
When you go to www.yelp.com, you’ll see a search box like the one in the photo below.
Put “Contractors” and your city.
After you search, Yelp will pull all the results for contractors in your area.
The first several results or so will be sponsored meaning, the owner of the company is paying to have their ad placed at the top of the search results.
After the sponsored section, the organic results are displayed. The organic results are contractors who have earned the top spots on Yelp naturally without paid advertising, and might be a good bet for you to call up!
Be aware though, the highest-ranked contractors are likely to be heavily booked and more expensive.
2. Facebook
Facebook is another excellent place to look for contractors online. Like Yelp, Facebook provides a list of local contractors in your area, and Facebook will also let you know if anyone in your city recommends certain contractors.
First, of course, you’ll have to make sure you’re logged in to Facebook.
Once you’re logged in to Facebook, type:
Contractors, “your city, your state.”
Then be sure to select the pages tab at the top. Once you’ve completed your search and selected pages, you’ll get a list of contractors in your area. Right off the bat, you can see if the contractors that are pulled up have any likes or not.
Once you find a contractor you’re interested in, click on their icon to pull up additional information. In this photo, for example, you can see what services this contractor offers, and you can see they have a few recommendations from others who have used them.
The more recommendations, the better!
A word of caution when using Facebook for locating contractors:
Sometimes, I find Facebook will return ridiculous results. I've had Facebook return car dealerships when searching for contractors, which makes no sense!
And I've had Facebook return contractors that are located seven states away from where I searched.
Why? I don't know why, but it happens.
Make sure you double-check the contractor is local to you and has recommendations, and you should be able to find a good one on Facebook.
Pro Tip: You can also try searching for other terms, such as "home remodelers," to find good contractors.
3. Thumbtack
Thumbtack is another great place you can look for contractors. Thumbtack offers a similar experience to Yelp too, so, if you're used to Yelp, you'll be right at home here.
First, you'll have to go to www.thumbtack.com.
Once you get there, you'll see a simple search bar, like in the photo below.
