How to Hire a Handyman: Tips and Tricks

Whether you are a single mom with a few odd jobs around the house, a retired professional that can't get up that ladder like you used to, or simply don't have the time to tackle your home or business maintenance tasks, you should be looking for a handyman to give you a hand. As with any professional service, there are a wide variety of practitioners. This article will help you ensure you get what you pay for and know how to do a little research up front to save yourself a lot of headache in the long run.

One of the best ways to find a handyman that you can trust is to rely on the recommendation of a friend or family member. Ask your neighbors or co-workers who they hire for their home repair and maintenance projects. It is likely true that if someone you know likes a particular company or individual, you will be happy with the work they do on your home or business as well. If you don't have the luxury of a reliable recommendation, then you will have to do a little legwork to ensure you get your money's worth and end up with a job well done.

Don't be afraid to research the potential handyman company. Use the internet as the valuable resource that it is and find online comments or quotes regarding satisfaction and dissatisfaction that other people have had with that particular company. Look through the Better Business Bureau database and ensure that the company you are considering is licensed, bonded and performs background checks on any of its employees.

If you have a particular job in mind, you may want to find someone that specializes in that field or area of home repair and maintenance. For example, instead of hiring a general contractor to take care of your electrical and plumbing repair needs, you may hire two separate contractors, one that has extensive experience with electrical wiring and one that has experience with plumbing. This way, you will ensure that each job gets the attention it deserves and will be done to the best extent. Sometimes, you will find that a handyman that has a lot of plumbing experience can offer to do a little wiring work for you as well which may work great for small jobs, but not as well for larger or more extensive projects. Keep in mind the area of experience and expertise when comparing different quotes and companies.

If you are looking for a handyman to take care of several different jobs in your home or business, you may consider hiring from a company that employs many different people with different sets of experience. In doing so, you have the benefit of paying one company, but get the varied expertise of a wider scope of people.