Who Can You Trust These Days?
It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I was going to hang around the office and do some paperwork when I got a call from a friend at a local bank. It seems that the bank was in the process of closing on a loan and needed a general contractor to certify some repairs….and it needed to be done today. During the home inspection, termite damage was found and the realtor called a “handyman” to do the repairs. He was not licensed and my guess is that he was not insured either. The loan required that a licensed general contractor sign off on all repairs and since the person doing the work was not licensed I got the call to see if I could inspect the work today. We agreed on a small fee for me to go to the home and take a look under the house at the work that had been completed and certify it was up to code and the problem corrected.
When I got under the house I realized that the work was not up to code and there was still termite damaged wood under the house. I crawled back out and called to let them know that I could not certify the work. I explained what I had found and that I had taken pictures if needed. The bank representative said the pictures were not needed since, “I called you because I knew I could trust you to do the right thing.”
We all want to get the most value for our hard earned dollars and usually have a lot of reputable options to choose from. Please remember this story when you call that friend of a friend who does work on the side to handle a repair to the biggest investment you will make in your lifetime….Your Home.
Given the situation, I did not charge for the hour I spent under that house on my birthday. It was obvious that someone was going to lose money on this transaction and I just asked that they keep me in mind when someone asked for a referral to a builder they could trust who was licensed and insured.
[su_highlight background=”#cec3c1″ color=”#1712ea”]I pay dearly for my general liability insurance and to keep my license up to date. It’s frustrating when I lose business to those who choose to work outside of the system and for that reason can do the work for less. The next time you need work done please proceed with caution and make sure you ask all the right questions up front. Price is not the only variable that you should be concerned about.[/su_highlight]
For a builder you can trust…..Give me a call.
