Finding Your Home Building Contractors

"Hi Carl,

While searching on-line for various things about building a house I have run across a couple of on-line search engines for finding home building contractors and subcontractors.
 

One is Servicemagic and the other is ReliableRemodeler. There is also the Better Business Bureau's business review site.
 

I'm wondering if you know if these are good resources or not.

Thanks so much for your web site, your book and your blog. I'm reading them all and appreciate them a lot. I've read every post you made on your blog to date and I have learned so much.
Thanks,
Lea"


Hi Lea, thank you for the kind comments.

Any resource that you use to find contractors can be a good one, if you follow my advice and get references from each and every one of them and check these references out.

As I mention in my books, your carpentry contractor is probably the most important contractor that you need to find.

And, your carpentry contractor will be able to recommend almost every other contractor that you will need, because a carpenter is on the job site more than any other contractor or subcontractor and knows most of the other contractors involved in building a home.

Two best ways to find a carpentry contractor are on a construction job site or at a lumber supply store.

In 1981 I wrote “a good contractor is a working contractor" especially during a recession or a downturn in housing starts.

Ironically, in 1981 we were also in a housing recession.

You can read more about this subject on my web page “Finding Your Subcontractors”.

Of the three resources that you mention in your letter, I prefer Servicemagic as they actually have a Service Guarantee.

Hope I’ve helped,
Carl Heldmann