How to Choose a Handyman to Fix Up Your House
If you need some help making repairs around your home, it may be time to hire a handyman. But you shouldn’t hire just anyone with tools for this task. This person will be coming into your home to improve parts of it, so it’s important to hire someone you can trust to do a great job. Before you choose a handyman, here are the details to look into for the best chance of getting results you’ll be happy with.
Get Recommendations from Friends
First, you need to know where to look for a good handyman. The easiest way to get started is to send a text or put up a social media post asking friends and family members who they recommend for home repairs.
You likely know several people who have hired handymen in your area, and you can trust your loved ones to tell you who they recommend—and who to avoid! So try to get a list of at least five handymen to contact based on recommendations from people you know.
Look at Online Reviews
If you don’t live near most of your friends and family, you might struggle to get personal recommendations for several handymen in your city. If this is the case for you, your next step is to do an online search of handymen who serve your area. Most of them should have some sort of online presence, such as a website or social media pages. Once you locate these, look at reviews from people who have hired them.
You can also check websites that post local business reviews, as some handymen may be popular enough for their reviews to be posted on such sites. This information should help you put together a list of several handymen to reach out to.
Ask About Services and Costs
Once you have a list of handymen to look into, it’s time to contact them. Whether you call or send a message via text or social media, you should first find out if they offer the service you need. There are some services that most handymen provide, such as installing ceiling fans, repairing toilets, and fixing leaky roofs. But if you have a more complicated request or unusual project, you should first make sure the handyman you’re talking to can provide that service. If they do, you can talk about pricing to ensure the project fits within your budget. Once you get a price, try to compare it with quotes from a few other handymen in the area who also provide the services you need. In fact, experts recommend that you get at least three quotes from handymen before you choose who to hire. This way, you can make sure you’re getting the job done for the most reasonable price.
Make Sure Your Handyman Has Insurance
If you find a handyman who performs the repairs you need for a good price, you’ll likely start talking about scheduling him or her to come to do the job. But before you do that, a final question to ask is whether he or she is insured. More specifically, find out if he or she has handyman liability insurance. This is important because this type of business insurance is meant to pay if the handyman accidentally damages your property or injures you while on the job.
So if your handyman drops a heavy tool on your tile and cracks it, his or her handyman insurance will pay to fix or replace it so you’re not left with the repair bills. And if the handyman’s ladder falls and hits you as you’re walking by, insurance will pay for your medical bills. Without insurance, you’d be left with these bills, or you’d likely have to sue your handyman and hope he or she has the money to pay. When you hire someone with handyman liability insurance, you don’t have to worry about this, as your claim will be paid quickly by insurance so you can move on.
Taking good care of your home is important and often requires you to hire a professional to help. These tips can help you find the best person for the job, ensuring that your home gets the repairs and improvements it needs from a capable, adequately insured handyman.
- by Matt Watts
