Recommending Builders and Contractors

[Build_IT]

Greetings,

I would like to know if it customary for an inspector to recommend a home improvement contractor(s) to a client. Is this within the scope of professional ethics or is this something you would NOT do as a home inspector?

I ask this because I am starting up a contracting business (renovations/remodeling) and thought one marketing channel would be home inspectors.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[hausdok]

Hi,

Some guys do it, but it's generally discouraged within the profession.

You'd be better off to market to the realtors. They're the one's who are usually looking for contractors to fix stuff after the home inspectors have pointed out issues. Be warned though, the work needs to be done right or you could end up with an inspector who's been called back to reinspect an issue telling his/her client that the work is sub-par. If that happens, it could seriously screw up a transaction and that would kill your realtor referrals.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Build_IT]

Mike,

Thank you for the information. As far as doing things right the first time - well, that's why I'm going into the business. I see a HUGE opportunity for people with the right skills to be successful in the contracting business.

Henry

[rjw]

The ASHI Ethics prohibit it. None the less, evean as a member I will recommend some contractors when I am familiar with their work and confident of their abilities.

I don't recommend the contractors and other trades who cold call me - not that I have anything against cold calling, but I need that higher level of knowledge.

[allspec33351]

Originally posted by rjw

The ASHI Ethics prohibit it. None the less, evean as a member I will recommend some contractors when I am familiar with their work and confident of their abilities.

I don't recommend the contractors and other trades who cold call me - not that I have anything against cold calling, but I need that higher level of knowledge.

No, they can recommend contractors. No conflict or ethics concern for ASHI.

Captain

[Scottpat]

ASHI changed their COE this past year in a vote by the membership to allow the recommendation of contractors. This was so members could recommend good contractors for their clients to use instead of their client finding out the chose a bad contractor when it was to late. A good change IMO.

[Bill Kibbel]

The ASHI Ethics prohibit it.

Bob, That's not correct. A member can recommend contractors provided there is no compensation for the recommendation.

Henry, When requested, I give names of contractors that I know won't screw my clients and have the skills and knowledge to do the job right.

[Chad Fabry]

Bill said:

Henry, When requested, I give names of contractors that I know won't screw my clients and have the skills and knowledge to do the job right.

I'll do that as well, but I admit it's a very short list.

[Build_IT]

Folks,

Thank you all for replying and confirming my general understanding.

My general understanding was that if there was no compensation for the recommendation then it would be ok for an inspector to recommend a "good/trusted" contractor.

Therefore I will use discretion when approaching and marketing my contracting business to inspectors.

Thank you again for your help.

Henry

[rjw]

Brain fart I guess - First time I've been wrong about something Just ask my ex....

[paul burrell]

Recommending a contractor is sometimes a touchy proposition. If the contractor does a good job you are a hero, if they screw it up for your client you can wind up with a headache. I have nothing against contractors but they have been known to screw up, even the good ones every now and then. Sometimes it it may be because of circumstances beyond their control.

Recommending contractors is something I don't do except on rare occasions because of past bad experiences.

One example:

I hired a fair weather friend a couple years ago to paint my home and he did a fairly good clean job. My Daughter and Son in law asked me if he could paint their house and I gave them his number. To make a short story long my Daughter called all upset and bent out of shape and said the guy was making a mess of her brick veneer walls and what should she do about it. I told her to have Mike (my soninlaw) run his @## off and he did. There were a few hard feelings because I recommended him. I think they believed he worked for me and I should have supervised him which was not the case.

Like I said recommending contractors can be a headache.

[Sacredgrooves]

we made it a rule, with very little exception, to not recommend anyone for repairs to be made. We cannot stake our reputation on the chance of someone else making a mistake. We also absolutely will not estimate the cost of the repair. There is a simple phrase I picked up from my great-grandfather on estimating..."an estimate is only good from someone willing to do the work". lol they get the point when I say that

[Brian G]

I only recommend people I've used myself and been happy with. It's a very short list, but none of them have made me regret it (yet). If asked I always include a Walter Jower's line: "They were princes for me, they may be frogs for you".

Brian G.

Lots of Frogs Around [:-headach

[Richard Moore]

Originally posted by Brian G.

[navy]I only recommend people I've used myself and been happy with.

My feeling exactly. If I have no personal experience of someone's work, how can I recommend them? In my case, as I've always done everything myself until the recent re-model, my list is almost non-existant. I might recommend my general contractor (a neighborhood guy and friend) but even then, some of his sub-contractors wouldn't get the time of day from me. Especially the dry-wallers. They left three receptacles buried, did a mediocre job on the final sanding and left me a with a mess-o-scraping before I could lay my hardwood.

No referrals is just "cleaner" for me.