A Smart Engagement Leads to a Solid Marriage

Jerry Levine, The Levine Group Architects & Builders, Inc
President, NARI Metro DC Chapter

The worst economic event in the last 80 years...Is it a depression? Is it a deep recession? Maybe it's a de-cession or a re-pression? Whatever it's called...homeowners are filled with anxiety about the value of their property and remodelers lay awake at night wondering where the next job will come from.

The marketplace has entered a very strange and dangerous phase. Customers think that prices are falling and remodeling projects can be had for 30% to 50% less than just a few short years ago. Remodelers are hungry for work and they fear the competition from a flood of "start up" companies with little experience and low overhead. It is truly is a buyers market.

But let's take a look through the microscope to see what really goes on...

When homeowners are nervous about home values and return on investment, the price of a project becomes the single most important criteria for choosing a dependable contractor. Not necessarily one who is certified or affiliated-or even one with exactly the type of job you want done. Along comes a contractor, not even necessarily a remodeler-who looks at his "jobs in backlog" file and sees that the cupboard is bare, cutting prices to compete with dozens of unemployed carpenters in town feels like the only desperate choice available. The collision of these two forces can create some very interesting fireworks. The client is happy that they found a bargain and the contractor is happy that they found work...right? Everyone wins and the laws of supply and demand have once again proved wiser than us all...

Well...not so much...now the job gets to the halfway point, there have been a couple of surprises and the contractor realizes that he has severely under priced the job and won't be able to pay for all the materials and subcontractors. He needs to find another source of income to complete the project. So he lands another job by bidding low again and has to service two clients with the same carpenters. He can't take the time to properly train another crew because he needs the money from the second project to pay for the first. So now the carpenters disappear for a days at as time from the first job and our homeowner starts to get worried. "Where are these guys? It's been two weeks since anything has been done?" Phone calls are made and answered inconsistently...tempers are shorter and everyone's usual restful sleep is frequently interrupted with fits of frustration and anger. The ball rolls down hill fast and soon the client and the remodeler are at each others throats. What once looked like a bargain and a marriage of needs has turned into a nightmare.

This is an all too familiar story...even in times of prosperity. What should a smart consumer do to avoid this madness?

1. Don't be seduced by the false hope of "The Buyer's Market." If the price seems too good to be true...it probably is.
2. Expand your decision-making criteria from price and quality to also include honesty, dependability, a history of customer care and reliable warranty service. Find a remodeler that you can trust over the long haul.
3. Use organizations like the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) Metro DC, who has an ethics code for members. education, certification and even a Grievance Procedure. Begin your search there with ethical, up-to-date, and certified remodelers.
4. Be a smart consumer...perform your due diligence when researching a remodeler's past performance, time in the business and how problems were resolved during the job process. These are all good indicators for predicting a successful relationship.

My plea for consumers and professionals is the following:

Homeowners, be careful and thorough in deciding how to hire a contractor and be sure that they listen to you and that you can talk to them. You can find many of quality and high ethical standards at www.narimetrodc.org.

Contractors, be realistic in pricing projects...you are in the customer care business first. Make sure you can fully provide the services that your estimate promises.

If these fundamentals get accomplished in good faith, then everyone can enter the delicate marriage of remodeling with eyes open and with clear expectations.