How Can I Avoid Fraud & Runaway Contractors When Renovating My Home?

Many of us aspire to purchase an entirely new property that we can transform into our ideal home. Most of us have probably created Pinterest mood boards to collect our future remodelling ideas before we ever get the keys to the house. But a few of us have our dreams in hold cause of the rising issues we often here about runaways contractors and unreliable interior designers. 

Do you know at least 4 out of 10 homeowners fall victim to scams and fraud when they plan on refurbishing their homes? Despite the fact that renovating your home can be an exciting project, but it’s extremely essential to take precautions to avoid fraud especially considering how there’s a sudden bloom of unverified designers and contractors in the market recently.

Scroll away to check out on some steps and tips on how to protect yourself and choose the ideal designer to unleash your dream space! 

• What is the difference between interior designers and contractors?

Contractors are focused on completing the project in line with the needs of the homeowners. The homeowners’ expectations must be precise, and they must frequently be present at the restoration site to guarantee that the area is renovated to their standards.

Interior designers, on the other hand, are design experts that visit your home, listen to your needs, envision the changes that must be done, and provide you with a vision of how your space will appear once the project is finished based on your expectations. They will usually show you an example during the project brief.

Once you give them the go-ahead, they will handle all of the back-end work for you, such as hiring a contractor, wiring, and monitoring the renovation progress on your property. Every interior designer has their particular flair. You may find a list of local interior designers by clicking here.

• What are the common problems faced by homeowners when renovating their homes?

Runaway contractors and frauds are the two most frequent issues that homeowners face when renovating their homes. Whereas, money laundering occurs when the contractors and interior designers are not legitimate. As a result, after the funds are exchanged, both contractors or designers disappear with the proceeds, leaving the home half-finished or abandoned in worst-case scenarios. This frequently happens when they are discovered at random on roadshows or recommended by a fickle close friend.

Always make sure to go through their online profile, request for their former projects, and do a proper background check (number of years operating in the field, experiences, qualifications of designers, reviews). Only sign up under them if they are well-founded!

The next one is miscommunication. Communication is essential for a seamless renovation process. If the communication process is imprecise, homeowners frequently get the opposite of what they wanted, resulting in a sour relationship between the renovators and the homeowners.

Finally, an increase in budget causes the renovation to be far more expensive than anticipated. When communication fails, the price quoted is not precise thus, the budgeting starts wavering. This is most common among renovators. Due to the renovators’ tendency to raise the price as the work progresses, homeowners ultimately end up paying more than they had originally agreed to.

• Should homeowners request quotations before renovations?

Definitely! Homeowners must carefully describe their expectations and criteria for the home and plan for a detailed cost sheet to renovate the property. This should give the homeowner an indication of whether or not the charges are within their budget. They might also compare the details with other designers and contractors in the industry to get a better deal.

• Who would be able to provide a better quotation: interior designers or contractors?

Contractors will only provide a quote based on your verbal explanation, but the price may vary once the renovations begin because it was just verbally agreed upon. Interior designers offer a more comprehensive fixed price estimate that carefully outlines the renovation costs due to the agreement established from the 2D or 3D model created from your specifications.

• Who offers better product and service warranties: contractors or interior designers? 

Interior designers offer longer guarantees for their services, up to a year or more. Commonly they are in charge of the full refurbishing process, from pre-sale to completion and beyond and the renowned ones in the field can take into account your preferences, comprehend your requirements, and offer direction at every stage.

Contrarily, contractors typically desire to finish the project as soon as possible so that they can start the next one. This is required for their line of business because they charge significantly less and can’t afford to invest as much time into a single project.

Choosing the right renovator can be cheap, but an interior designer can guarantee to supply you with a platter full of beneficial conveniences that will soothe all of your concerns. Want an easy breezy reno journey? Get in touch with our local interior designers on Atap.co, here!

• On a side note, Atap.co is launching its new review feature. This feature would enable homeowners to critique and give honest reviews for their respective interior designers to verify each designer on our board with legit ratings! Stay tuned for further updates!