I'm not sure I'm the right person to answer a question like yours, however
just like buyer markets and seller markets in real estate, you need to
assess how busy and how available contractors are in your area. In
Westchester county , NY where I live and work, you get recommendations from
satisfied customers, friends, relatives, etc. call the contractor and pray
he's willing to work for you. (sometime this year) All that text book" how
to hire a contractor" stuff only works when there are to many contractors
and not enough work



"Dan_Musicant" wrote in message
...
I'm new to this to the tune that I've never hired a contractor. But I've
been thinking about it and doing some homework. I watched the BBB's
video "Hiring a Home Contractor" a couple of times and they make the
point that you should always get references and check them out. They
also say you should get at least 3 bids before making a decision.
There's a lot of other things they advise, including checking the the
BBB and licensing agencies and trade organizations for feedback about
specific contractors.

Well, I've called 3 contractors I have some reason to believe may be
reliable, but I sure don't have any proof. They appeared in a Good
Service Guide from a few years back and they are still in business. One
was recommended by a friend. That contractor sent a guy by today who
looked at my roof and took enough information to work up an estimate and
he said I'd get a letter next week. I went to their website but couldn't
find any references listed there. I went to the BBB's site, both
nationally and locally and when I put in the company's name or address
the search came up with nothing whatsoever - no company found.

I'm wondering how I should go about getting references from these
people. Should I ask for references even before an estimator comes out -
just call and ask the office person for references right off that bat?
Should I ask the estimator? Or should I call the office after the
estimator comes out and ask then?

Thanks for any guidance.

Dan