I’ve talked before about how hard it can be to find a good contractor for home repairs. Let me correct that statement, finding GREAT contractors. For people who know what I do, this is probably the most often asked question. How do you find reasonable, reliable, and reputable contractors when you are remodeling a house? Whether you are selling your house or plan on living there forever, you want to know that the home repairs were done well and for a reasonable price.
There are many ways to find great contractors, such as asking your friends. But let’s get a little more creative than that and use the Internet.
If you are on Facebook, then instead of just asking a few friends for recommendations, you can ask ALL your friends. Still didn’t get a good response? Ask your friends to ask their friends. The power of Facebook is limitless. However, either during your request or after you’ve received some responses, ask the person providing the referral, “What made the contractor so great?”
Angie’s List
I’ve been a member of Angie’s List for a long-time. Since I buy houses all over Los Angeles and Orange County, I often need to find contractors near me when the home is out of my go-to subcontractor’s service area. OR because my go-to subcontractor is busy. Angie’s List is a great resource and well worth the money, especially if you are doing more than one job over a period of time. Angie’s List gives more weight to their paid subscriber’s ratings and feedback, which helps weed out the ever-present fake reviews.
Yelp
Yelp is always a great resource, especially after you’ve looked at Facebook and Angie’s List, Yelp can be a great reference point for home repair resources. I pay close attention to the comments, not only the bad ones but all of them. I look for consistency, especially.
Houzz
Houzz is an amazing resource for remodeling ideas and has become a great resource for finding good contractors who actually did the work.
Contractor’s State License Board of California
You can also search for contractors here, but I use it mainly to verify that the people I hire are licensed. You can check on a company or person’s license here.
No matter how you search for “contractors near me”, make sure you get everything in writing, ask for and call references, and, most of all, trust your instincts.