I Never Hire the Wrong Contractor. Here's How
TLDRYou can’t actually tell if a contractor is good before you hire them. But you can profile for the right type of person, find them at Home Depot and gas stations, and make up the difference by setting crystal-clear expectations yourself.
Table of Contents
- Profiling: What to Look For
- The Truck Test
- Owner-Operator, Not Absentee Boss
- They Have to Want to Work With You
- Where to Find These Guys
- You Can’t Really Tell Until They Work
- Start Small, Work Them Up
- The Real Job Is Setting Expectations
- Verbal, Written, and Video
- It’s On You
- FAQ
Profiling: What to Look For
I’ve been flipping houses for 15 years, have completed 300 of them, and deal with a lot of contractors. I use profiling to look for a specific kind of contractor.
I do not want the guy on the billboard. His business is marketing. He’s good at his business, but you’re just a cog in his machine. You won’t be meaningful to him. His marketing overhead is passed to you in the form of higher prices, and you probably won’t get the attention you need.
My mindset: I want to be a big part of someone’s business. I want to be meaningful to them. The guy just getting started, or the crew of one who runs everything, is the guy who’s going to care whether I’m happy.
The Truck Test
Look at the truck.
| Truck | What It Tells You |
|---|---|
| White work van, minimal markings, maybe a magnetic logo | The practical working setup I look for |
| Wrapped and logo’d out | Marketing cost that can be passed into the price |
| Big jacked-up truck | The same concern I have with billboards and expensive branding |
| Rust bucket | Barely holding on; when the shoestring breaks, you pay for it |
The white work van is the target. Maybe it has a magnetic logo or phone number stuck on the side.
Rust buckets are a different problem. They signal that the operation may be barely holding on, and I avoid them too.
Owner-Operator, Not Absentee Boss
I want the business owner actually on the job site. Either they’re the only one (crew of one), or they run a small crew and they’re the one walking the project and telling people what to do.
I have a lot of respect for people who scaled to multiple crews running on their own. I’ve been that guy. It is really hard. You have to keep your eye on everything, and mistakes happen at the crew level.
When the owner is physically there, the person who controls the company can tell the crew what to do, catch mistakes, and get them fixed.
I look for an owner-operator or a crew of one who is present on the job.
They Have to Want to Work With You
Last profiling signal: does this person actually want to work with you?
I want somebody who wants to build their business alongside mine. I want to matter to them as a customer instead of becoming one small job inside a large machine.
Where to Find These Guys
99% of the good working contractors I find, I find at Home Depot.
They’re in the checkout line with drywall on their pants, paint on their shirt, and calluses on their hands. They’re visibly working people. They’re also there looking for you, in a sense: they’re always open to the next job.
Gas stations are the other reliable spot. A white work van pulls up with ladders on the top. I introduce myself.
Pro TipAlways be thinking about it. When I see the kind of working contractor I profile for, I introduce myself.
Bringing them to a job site to give you a bid is the next step. On the walk, I get a read on whether they want to work with me and whether they know what they are talking about.
You Can’t Really Tell Until They Work
You can’t actually know if a contractor is going to be good before they do a job for you.
Looking at pictures tells you nothing except whether they have pride in their work. That’s a useful signal but it doesn’t tell you about quality, speed, or reliability.
Talking to them tells you if they know what they’re talking about. You can feel experience in a conversation. But that’s still just signal, not proof.
The only real test is work. They have to show up and do something for you.
Start Small, Work Them Up
Start a new contractor small instead of handing over the whole project.
Have them do the flooring and the paint at one house, not the entire project. Talking can show whether they understand the work. The job shows how they actually perform.
Common MistakeHanding a whole flip to a contractor you just met. You do not really know how the relationship works until the contractor performs on your job.
The Real Job Is Setting Expectations
The owner is responsible for pulling the project off. You cannot throw the work into somebody else’s lap and expect them to know your vision.
No contractor is going to figure out exactly what you want on their own. You have to tell them.
Example from flooring. On floors, I want:
- No transition strips at bedroom edges. Floors run continuously through the house.
- No over-undercutting doors. Tight as possible.
- Specify the trim detail. Ross used removing and reinstalling trim as one possible expectation, then said he usually chooses cheaper quarter-round on his own jobs.
- Floors run this direction, not that direction.
Those are specific expectations. If I don’t state them, the contractor cannot know exactly what I want.
Clear expectations up front let me hold the contractor accountable when the work isn’t right. “Remember when I said” only works if I actually said it.
Verbal, Written, and Video
Say it three ways:
| Format | Where |
|---|---|
| Verbal | On the job site, in person |
| Written | Text message or contract |
| Video | Record a walkthrough on your phone |
Video is underused. I walk the job with my phone recording and say: “This is the undercutting I’m talking about. This is one of my bugaboos.” Now I have media that proves what I specified.
When the work comes back wrong, I’ve got three forms of evidence the contractor had the information. At that point, it’s not “contractor made a mistake.” It’s “contractor ignored three forms of clear instruction.”
Key ConceptState the expectation first. Then follow up, check the work, and hold the contractor to what you actually explained.
It’s On You
The whole premise of this article: you’re probably not going to find the perfect contractor. You’re going to find a contractor, set clear expectations, follow up, and check the work.
Yes, some things should just be known. A professional shouldn’t need instruction on basic trade work. But I don’t trust any of it. I state my expectations every time. I follow up. I check the work. I make sure I get what I paid for.
I make sure I get what I asked for every time.
FAQ
Can photos prove a contractor does good work?
No. A few photos may show pride, which is useful, but they do not prove how somebody will perform on your job.
How do I test a contractor before giving them a whole project?
Start small. I might give somebody the flooring and paint first, then work them up after I see what they actually do.
What expectations should I give a contractor?
State the job verbally, put it in writing, and record a walkthrough in media. Those three forms make the standard hard to misunderstand.
Where do I look for working contractors?
I meet many at Home Depot and sometimes at gas stations. I look for working people with material or ladders in a practical work van, introduce myself, and invite them to bid a small job.