TRADES, CONTRACTORS AND QUOTES

The owners of @ Real Estate Yeppoon, Natalie and Troy Gesler are keen property investors and renovators and have personal bought and sold 20 properties. Below they share their thoughts on hiring tradies and contractors;

Before you hire any trades person there are a few things you should always do. After all you are hiring them to work on what is most likely your most valuable assets and chances are you are hiring them to work inside your home;

• Make sure you organise trades in the correct order, always ask at what stage of the job that you will need their assistance for? How long will they take? And when are they available?
• It is important you know who you are hiring. Word of mouths is always a great start, ask friends, family, neighbours and even suppliers for recommendations or research them online.
• Do some quick online background checks with industry bodies to make sure they are who they say they are, licensed and insured to do the work. Confirm they don’t have any complaints lodged against them.
• We also like to do an ABN (Australian Business Number) search to make sure the quote, license and business names all match up. 
• Also ask for references, people they have done work for before and follow them up where possible. Have a look at the work they have done.
• If any information doesn’t match or is questionable simply ask the contractor and go from there. Follow your instincts, if something doesn’t feel right you are probably best not to hire them.
• Know what to expect
• Get at least two quotes so you can compare the value. Don’t just look at the price, also look at what is included for that price. If the quote dose not fully explain what you are getting, ask for them to review and alter it. We are increasingly finding it more and more important to ask for a written quote, keep a record of all communication including scoop of work talked about. It is important you communicate clearly to ensure you get all of the work completed to the standard you are expecting. We often find the best thing to do, is send the same email to everyone you are getting to quote on the job and clearly outline what we want done, the more information you can provide the better.
• For example, you might include a plan of the house, numbers and details of fittings and materials you require, maybe paint colours etc. We also ask for confirmation as to when they would be able to start the job and how long it will take. It can often be a good idea to ask for their ideas as well, if they understand what you are wanting to achieve and your budget a good tradie will often be able to make suggestions to keep the costs down or a finish with a higher perceived value.
• In short our advice is, do your research, ask questions and trust your instincts. 
• Always get several quotes. And clearly explain the project. Communication is once again the key here. 
• In addition to assessing their workmanship, also consider what they will be like to work with, do they return your calls, how long did it take to receive your written quote, are they professional, are they keen to work with you, and what are their time frames like.
• Once you have found a contractor / tradie you are happy with you will most likely need to sign a contract (depending on the trade and size of the project), and will often pay them in draw down payments at various stages along the way. Always inspect the work that has been completed before paying for that stage. 
• Never make the final payment until you are happy with the work completed.

As always the team @ Real Estate Yeppoon are always happy to chat and share the contact details of contractors and tradies we have found to be good to work with in the past. Call in to 20b James Street Yeppoon or give us a call on 4819 9676.