Hello dear readers, once again it’s that time of year when the Harvest Moon shines its light for all the ghosts, ghoulies, vampires, zombies, and let us not forget, the sheer terror of the Hannah Montana clones. They descend upon your neighborhood like a top -notch crack squadron of ARMY Rangers in search of glory in the form of sugary treats.

However scary the season might be, nothing is scarier than making a bad decision with regard to choosing a contractor. This is a mistake that can cost you a lot. This is not limited to money, but also time and quality of life. Whenever asked, “What is the best way to select a contractor?” most people would say, “Get some references.” Being a contactor I say to you the consumer, that this should be your last tool to protect yourself. That’s right, references are not the best litmus test to pick a contractor. Please allow me to explain. If you ask a contractor for three references and last year he did 100 projects and royally messed up 97 of them, what 3 references will he give you? See what I mean? Let me give you an example. I personally know a contractor in the area that is notorious for doing less than stellar work. He comes out with his “aw shucks, yes sir posture” and sells you a scope of work. You being the smart consumer will then in turn ask for some reference with which he says, “No problem!” He then hands you (with earnest) a neatly typed list of three or five people he’d like you to check out. Unfortunately, what you don’t know is that two of them are family members (wife included, using her maiden name by the way), one is his best buddy (named “Buddy” . . . no kidding true story!), and the two customers he did do a good job for last year. Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day right? How did I find this out? Simple, I heard him bragging about it at the local contractors supply yard. Long story short, even Jeffery Dahmer had a reference to get his job. So what do I do?

#1 Call local government jurisdiction that they have their license with.

#2 Call your city/ county fraud unit (yes someone is in charge of this in your local area government).

#3 Check any trade organizations that they claim to belong to.

#4 Give your state attorney office a jingle.

If you do need references try to get ones that are local to you so you can do a drive by and chat with them face to face for a little bit.  Although references may not be the best method to validate your contractor, they can be a handy tool in order to establish the quality of work by going out to see the completed projects.

C.H. Ferris

General & Roofing Contractor, TX & GA

State Registered Roofing Contractor FL

B.A. Communications & Sociology