The moment has come and you are sitting down with your NJ Home Improvement Contractor ready to sign a contract. A bit nervous? A little worried that you are not certain what to look for. I know the feeling. I get that feeling every time I lease a vehicle. I know the dealer is going to slip something in the lease that I don't want, so my guard is up. Whether you are building a Raised Level, addition, bathroom or kitchen renovation or even a finished basement, a contract is a contract so let's go over a few items.

INTERVIEW FIRST

Lets break this down. Let's get down to basics. In the beginning, when you first started calling NJ Home Improvement Contractors for an estimate on  your home improvement job, I'm sure you met with three or four contractors. It is during this time that you needed to start getting a feel for the contractor that you would want to work with. It is basically an interview. Then, when you think you are leaning towards a particular NJ Home Improvement Contractor, then you look into his references, drive past a few of his jobs to make sure you really want to work with his company. After you go through this process, hopefully you can get a sense of comfort and feeing  like you are working with a reliable and trustworthy NJ home improvement contractor. This will make the contract signing a bit more less tense.  

READ THE CONTRACT

I have sat down with hundreds of customers for contract signings. The first thing you want to make sure of is that you actually read the contract. No matter what, read the contract. Believe it or not, I would show up to a contract signing and the customer is ready to sign the contract and hand me a check without reading it. Sure, sounds easy for me right? In this scenario, it would eventually lead to problems. The customer would think he is getting this option when he actually is getting something else. Each and every contract signing, I always sit down with my customers and read the "entire" contract from start to finish. This way any items that are cloudy to them,  I will stop and discuss so that each and every item is clear. I recommend that you do the same when you are ready to have a contract signing with your NJ Home Improvement contractor.

PROJECT STAGES

You want to know prior to the work beginning, how long your NJ Home Improvement Contractor thinks the work process will last. It is a law in most states that your contractor must give an estimated time of completion in writing. In our contracts, not only do we have absolutely every little detail from start to finish, included we have a full page of the entire job process listing from the date of contract signing until the very end in great detail. It also states the estimated date of completion. Look for that in your contract, it can eliminate many problems .

WARRANTY

Inside your contract package, your NJ Home Improvement Contractor must provide a detailed warranty. This is mandatory in most states. Your warranty should list the time frame that the warranty is valid and exactly what items are covered in the warranty. As a NJ Home Improvement Contractor, I like to have our   warranties completely detailed on a separate form. Every area of concern is listed. It eliminates any second guessing. You should go over your warranty and discuss any questions you may have with your NJ Home Improvement Contractor.

CATEGORY BREAK DOWNS

The last issue I want to touch on is the bulk of your contract which will be the individual item categories such as Roofing, Siding, Heating/ Air Conditioning, Flooring, Finishing, Windows etc....  .

A good contract will have individual breakdowns of each of these types of categories, such as the examples above. There will be full detail of material itemized and any possible credits that go to the homeowner for items that they have purchased. I have found that the more detail listed, the better. When we have a contract signing, there is nothing left unmentioned. All material and individual categories are listed from start to finish. It also makes it easy for the homeowner to reference any item in question for the future.

Remember to read your contract, ask your NJ Home Improvement Contractor as many questions you feel are needed until there is no stone left unturned.