How to Choose the Best Home Contractor in Minneapolis

If you’re looking for a home contractor in Minneapolis, you may be wondering how to choose the best one for your needs. Never worry, Treasured Spaces is here to help!

Here’s your guide on choosing the best home contractor in Minneapolis.

Get Recommendations/Referrals

The best way to find a decent home contractor is to reach out to family and friends and ask them who they’ve used in the past. If your immediate network doesn’t have any recommendations, check the National Association of the Remodeling Industry for access to a list of member contractors in your area.

Try Interviewing on the Phone or Face to Face

When hiring a home contractor, you should try to meet the person face to face – at the very least, try to find time for a phone call. Speaking with the person directly will help set expectations, uncover obstacles and define the goals of your project.

Contact Past Clients

There’s no greater information you can receive about a home contractor than what their past clients can provide. When interviewing home contractors, ask them to send you a list of referrals that can backup their work. This lets you in on the inner process of the contractor you’re considering hiring.

Location

If you’re looking for a home contractor in Minneapolis, ensure that they’re actually in the general vicinity. If you hire a contractor that lives too far away, your project can suffer from long delays. Not only will it be a further commute for him and his team, he won’t know the area as well, meaning his knowledge of permits and codes in your location may be flawed. This ads time, money and stress to your project.

Asking for Contractor Bids

Once you have your ideal contractors pinpointed, it’s time to narrow down the list. When you have a short list of contractors whose services and personality aligns with yours, you can start asking for bids. To compare costs, ask everyone to break down the price of materials, labor, profit margins and other expenses. In most cases, materials account for 40 percent of the total cost, while the rest covers overhead and the typical profit margin, which is 15 to 20 percent.

Don’t Choose Your Contractor Based on Price

When gathering bids on a new home construction project, it may be tempting to go with the lowest offer. While this works out once in awhile for each party involved, more often than not, someone ends up getting the short stick. If an offer comes in too low because they miscalculated the numbers, you could end up blowing your entire budget and then some.

Always choose your contractor based on his qualifications, experience, personality and past work examples – if that person happens to be the lowest bidder, then great! But, never choose the contractor that will be overseeing your entire endeavor based solely on price.

Set Your Budget & Timeline

When you’ve pinpointed the contractor that you want to work with, now is the time to lock-in your budget and timeline. You should be worried if the builder asks for half up front – they may be in financial trouble or are hesitant that you won’t want to pay the rest once you’ve seen the final result. For large projects, a schedule usually starts with 10 percent at contract signing, three payments of 25 percent evenly spaced over the duration of the project and a check for the final 15 percent when you feel every item has been completed to your satisfaction.

Ensure They’re Insured

A prospective home contractor should be more than happy to hand over a copy of his insurance credentials and certificates to ensure that you’re kept at ease throughout the entire project. In a similar vein, you can ask if they have any other professional designations, like OSHA-compliant or Certified Graduate Remodeler. Additionally, ask the contractor how long he’s been involved in any trade organizations.

Contact Treasured Spaces in Minneapolis Today!

When it comes to home contractors in Minneapolis, Treasured Spaces is the area’s leader. Whenever you need the help of a professional, contact our skilled team of craftsmen. We’ll help you tackle any upcoming project that you may have. Ready to get started? Contact us today!