HomeAdvisor to find contractors

Hello,

“I’m on a budget” and I’m looking for contractors to renovate one of my apartments – the ones on this forum are out of my league from what I can sense from the forum messages (I’m renovating to rent out the unit, not to live a luxurious lifestyle in it), so I’m looking at various options. Has anyone had good experiences with the folks that come out of HomeAdvisor? I’m getting a number of call backs but I’m unable to find any reviews for the ones that are calling me.

Thanks

soundhoner

in General Discussion 8 years and 1 month ago

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angelique.m.west | 8 years and 1 month ago

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I meant to say see the “Services” section in this site.

angelique.m.west | 8 years and 1 month ago

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Good recommendations should not be hard to find if you ask friends, friends of friends, or even put a request for such on your Facebook feed. Or send a mass e-mail to everyone you know. Or ask neighbors. I used the “resources” part of this site and found some pretty reasonable folks. Not all of them are super high end. See, for example, Shamrockin Contracting. A friend is using him and is having a good experience so far.

espeon | 8 years and 1 month ago

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Agreed with Resident2 and I would go further to say that most middleman type platforms in this industry are useless. They know less than nothing about construction and they have no skin in the game beyond collecting fees. I get a call from them about once a month trying to sign me up, usually pretending to be a homeowner looking for a GC.
Ideally there would a large user base of honest reviewers but that concept has many pitfalls. That said, there are exceptions with more rigorous vetting.

resident2 | 8 years and 1 month ago

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Home Advisor is useless. They do not check even basic ID or license requirements. You cannot trust any referrals from them.
You would do better to walk around your neighborhood; talk to contractors that you find, look at their current work etc. Ask your local hardware store who the better handymen ? supers are in the area.