Angie's list - anybody belong?

[jillan]

I have lots of projects going on, and am going to need to hire some help.

Went over to Angie's list, and they want $49 for one year.

Just wondering if it's worth it.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

1. All of the contractors

are registered with the state.Go up on state gov.com and check out contractors in your locality.
It,s free. Contractors and sub contractors like to advertise in small papers in the service section. Look at sevices in your daily paper want adds. And no don,t pay those ripp off $49.00. They are jerks! All of them. I hate tham all and I wish they would stop borthering me. They fill up my answering machine with request for me to join them. Some of them even want a percentage of the job . And by the way don,t hire any j birds.

[jillan]

2. But how do you know if contractors are good or if they are a rip-off?

I've never hired anyone before and am afraid of getting ripped off, or having someone screw up the job.

[CC]

3. Ask around.

Ask friends, family and acquaintances about people they have hired and were happy with. Then check that they are licensed, insured and bonded. You can also check the BBB. Word of mouth is a great way to find someone that does good work and avoid someone that does shoddy work.
I tried Angie's list for a year while it was free, they were new to the state. In that time I had a porch put on, electrical work done and the house resided. Angie's list did not have any of the people I used listed until I added them and gave a very favorable rating on them. The porch guys I found through a friend, the electrician is a friend of my son's and the siding guy lives down the street. I still got their license numbers, checked on them through the state and made sure they were licensed and bonded. They didn't mind a bit and did great work. The siding guy even came back and fixed my siding for free after a car took out some when it wrecked and took out the electric line. He can see his work and doesn't want anyone else messing it up. lol Works for me.

Edited to add-Make sure you get a contract in writing and read the whole thing before signing.

[trotsky]

4. I do.

Personally, I've found it to be totally worth it. Been a member for about 4 years now. Because it's not just the ratings (which help immensely), it's that you also have them on your side should anything go wrong. They have a "penalty box" for bad behavior, it's a real black mark on the organization and most outfits will remedy the situation.

I've used contractors from Angie's List to reroute a gas line, install a new furnace and A/C, replace my water heater, replace some windows, do some specialized tasks, and will be using one this year to build a new fence. They also rate other services like taxi companies, and are beginning to rate medical clinics and hospitals.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

5. That,s a good question

Most of those you pay them to find a contractor claim that they check out contractor references ,that,s a lie. It only cost $200 to have a very nice BBB plack hanging on the old wall!People will say anything to get what they want on the cheep.In the sme way that they will say anything when they do not get what they want.You must be wise in your choice, that,s up to you.

Most of my new clients are friends or neighbors of old clients, I have been doing it for more than twenty years.
Every now and again I am asked for references. If I am comfortable with the new client than I will give the client three phone numbers ,each phone number will be a client who had work done on the very same scale the new client is looking to have done.

You can go up on state Gov. contractor registration,s and check for complaints, that,s where the BBB looks. Zero complaints over the years means happy customers! And don,t forget some people are cronic complainers, there you must use your insight.

If the contractor draws up a contract you must completely understand that contract. It is legal and binding.

The trust factor is very important. If I am comfortable with the client and I know my client trust,s me, than I will do everything I can to save the client some money or help them to get the most out of their money,That has everything to do with the drawing up of the contract, when I bring in specialist sub contractors it comes at a high cost. When I do it ,it doesn,t cost as much.

On larger scale remodels ,it can take months or even a year. I get to know my clients and they are all my friends, some for more than twenty years.I have seen the children grow up.

Contractors are like politicans ,they talk and lie. You are looking for the one that does the talking threw results.On my projects the sub contractors know my word and that is results talk and bull shit walks.

It never ceases to amaze me ,I will be sitting at a kitchen table with a potential new client ,and the client will say ,when can you start, Ofcourse the clients first question over the phone was ,do you have any openings in your schedule in about three weeks!At the table, I might say ,well the time is now. So the client says ,than lets do it ,I like you and I don,t need to look any further! I don,t know how they know but they do! Some insight ,some intution, a feeling about it perhaps ,knowing people,who is to say.What I can say is they all kept me going over the years. I love those educated customers each and every one of them!

I just can,t figure out how it is they just seem to know~!But what I do know is they just know.

Trust your instincts . And find some people you know that have had work done on their homes, talk to your neighbors.

[Mist]

6. The $49 put me off, too. Plus, IIRC, they (Angie's List) asked a surprising

amount of invasive questions regarding my household.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

7. Here,s a thought for you

If it cost you $49.00 how much does it cost the contractor maybe 10 or fifteen percent? Why I would wonder would anybody who is any good seek clients or jobs that way?
But as a contractor those buffoons will tell me all I got to do is tack a extra 10 or fifteen or even twenty percent over the top of my estimate to cover their fee.They are indeed very funny people! I would suppose they would tell the home ownner that they will do everything they can do to help you if all goes wrong. Now the question is do you just believe that or do you look into that further?

Let me just tell you this, if it were my house I would not leave it off there because I am too busy to look into it further.

But if you were to think about it why would anybody who is any good go that route? I mean on the contractor,s end? What would some jerk tell you about a contractor over the phone in view of a thing called commission?
Unless ofcourse you believe that they are doing what they do as a community service!I mean really now 49.00 ,is that all there is to it!

But hay, on my end of the phone I just have to ask, why should I charge my clients 15 percent over the top of my estimate ? I mean wouldn,t it be better for me all around to just forget you people exist and just pass the savings of you alls non existence to my clients!

But with their service ,they provide the leads ,that,s what I would be paying for!
Well, I never needed them befor ,why would I need them now!

On the other hand if I was totally lacking in experience maybe I could be persuaded.

All I gotta do is tack it on. Where does it begin and where will it end?

The educated costumer will always know better. I really don,t know very much about those other people, although that may be a lie. Or maybe thats all too far back there!

The educated client is all about protecting their investment. When you buy the house ,you in the big leauges.There is always more to it.

Reguardless to what the bank says ,the contractor has to be able to say ,no, I am not interested. There are positive reasons for that.Think positive.

[distantearlywarning]

8. I've had very good luck with Angie's List.

One thing I like about it is that all of the review process is done by the customers, and you can read everything on the site (positive or negative) before you call up any of the contractors listed.

I found a really terrific general contractor using Angie's List, and a really terrific floor refinisher, both of whom did (literally) spectacular jobs on our house. I don't think I would have been able to find either one of them without Angie's List, or know which of the hundreds of contractors listed out there was the best one without access to all the customer reviews on Angie's List.