The type of project you have will determine the type of person you will need to do the job. You may just need the services of a gardener or freelance worker. In this issue, they may not be referred to as “landscape contractors”. Regardless of any licensing laws, however, you can still fall into the trap of committing one of the top 5 mistakes when it comes to hiring workers for your home or landscape project.
Didn’t check references
The easiest thing to do is to ask them for references over the phone or the first time you see them in person. Don’t feel that you are perceived as negative – that you don’t trust them. The truth is you don’t have to trust them until you get a guarantee! RED FLAG: Failure to provide you with a verifiable reference. If that happens, just move on to someone else.
Check with previous customers. Are they satisfied with their work? Was the work completed within a reasonable timeframe? Does the contractor return phone calls? If the person has a problem with the contractor, ask how the contractor responds to the complaint. See examples of landscape contractor work. For more details, you can see it at landscaping contractors Markham.
Do not check landscape contractor licenses.
In many states, a license is required for any construction business that advertises, offers, bids, arranges, or performs construction, alteration, home improvement, remodeling, or repair work that exceeds a certain rating. If you think your project looks more like a builder, then a contractor’s license is unnecessary, but you should check it through references or previous clients.
If the type of work you need to complete requires a licensed landscape contractor, do they have a license? This is a HUGE red flag. Many “contractors” refuse to get a license because they don’t want to run a legitimate business, which requires hiring authorized employees, paying workers compensation and other insurance, charging and paying sales tax, or reporting the income to the IRS. They operate under the counter and may often make deals with you if you pay them in cash. This type of attitude and mentality is a reflection of their follow-up with your work. Would you trust them to support their work? How can you make a complaint if something goes wrong? (You can’t).
If your project specifies hiring a licensed landscape contractor, contact the state agency that records the license. Check the license, is it in good reputation. Do they have any complaints? If so, has it been resolved? Check to verify that the person giving you their license is the same as that shown on the state record.
There are unlicensed “contractors” who use other people’s license numbers and hope you don’t bother checking them. It is also illegal for a licensed contractor to allow someone else to “use” their license.
Automatically receives the lowest bid.
The higher bid may be worth the price in better materials, workmanship, and reliability. Don’t always take the lowest bid it is not always the best strategy. The private residence is not the same evaluation process that is carried out by government agencies. When the government awards a contract to the “lowest bid”, it is because the bid has gone through extensive screening to be allowed to bid. Next, they bid for the same project, the same design, the same materials, etc., which makes the whole decision, down to the lowest bid. You shouldn’t use this approach, because your project is not a government contract.
There are no written contracts or badly written contracts
Any contractor who fails to prepare a written contract or who provides you with an oral statement about the costs of doing certain work should be avoided. They are unprofessional and you don’t know what to do. This is a recipe for disagreement about what the contractor promised and what you expected.
Even if a contract is being prepared, make sure it has important contract language such as start date, estimated completion, the total cost of work, payment of installments, scope of work which lists as much detail as possible, material, quantity, square of records, amount, etc. and products to be equipped.
If your project seems ridiculous to have a written contract, at least hold off on payment until the job is done your way, otherwise, you won’t have any recourse.
Not understanding who you should hire.
What is your landscape project? Does it consist of design preparation as well as construction? Is the contractor you consider skilled in design? If not, you may need to hire a separate landscape designer so that you get what you want and not what the contractor thinks you should have.
Knowing what you want in terms of your wants and needs and to some extent, a feeling of what you want to achieve is very helpful in deciding who to hire. If your project is single-focus such as building a brick patio, you may want to hire a contractor who specializes in “masonry work” rather than someone who usually does yard maintenance but says they can build brick terraces too. If your project is as all-encompassing as a new house with no landscaping, you should consider hiring a company that can design and build the entire project.