If there is one thing that you want to make sure of when hiring a painting contractor is that you are getting the best value for your money. While a contractor may blow you away with an incredibly low offer, that same contractor may also blow you away with a poorly done job. To make sure that you are getting that is done correctly, consider the following items.
What will you get?
When you are considering bids and you notice that most come in around the same price except for one you should be suspicious of what you will get for the money. Materials such as paint, tools and labor do not fluctuate that much and if you have a contractor offering you a ridiculously reduced price you have to wonder where they are saving money. What corners are they going to cut in order to still make a profit from painting your home? The old adage you get what you pay for is very true when it comes to house painting.
Insurance
It may be that the contractor that is bidding low may not have enough insurance to work on your property and the helpers they have. You should know that the insurance premiums are not cheap due to the fact that this line of work is considered "high risk." In some cases the contractor will skip the insurance to save money and leave you holding the bag should something happen. This means you could be the one that is liable for a worker that gets hurt and any repairs that need to be taken care of due to a job being poorly done. If you are going to consider accepting the lowest bid, make sure you check their insurance.
Workers
It is also important to know who is going to be in your house working. A cheap bid could also mean cheap labor. If the contractor is underbidding everyone else, they can't afford to pay professional labor. This could be day laborers or illegal immigrants. This type of labor is often not covered by worker's comp, which again leaves you footing the bill should they get injured.
Warranty
As with most things you pay for, you want to make sure that there is a warranty of some sort in place. If the contractor is bidding low you should ask what type of warranty they offer for their work. Keep in mind that bids that are drastically low are probably just barely covering the cost to the contractor to do the job the first time. This means if they have to come back and fix anything, they are going to in a rush to get it done.
This leads to the next warranty question, how much of a warranty do they offer? The going standard is five years for a painting contractor warranty and if they are offering this have, you read the fine print. Never take anything for granted particularly when hiring a painting contractor; what you think is a standard warranty may be full of loop holes for the contractor to squirm through.
Years in Business
Not that a contractor that has only been in business for a year is not as good as the contractor that has been doing this for 10 years... but you want to verify the length of time they have been in business. Sometimes it can be a sign of a contractor that moves around a lot in an attempt to avoid honoring warranties. The recommendation is to only work with contractors that have been in the area for about 10 years. Ten years gives contractors enough time to establish a reputation and offer you a list of clients that were satisfied to contact. A good contractor should be able to offer you about 25 people to contact. That is if they work full time.
The Real Cost
So the bid is $200 less than everyone else, but the contractor is asking you for a deposit. This could be because the contractor doesn't have enough money to buy the materials that are needed to start your job. Deposits are not industry standards. Contractors should have the money in their business to cover buying materials for the job. Asking for one could be a sign that they need money and may run out on you once they get the money. If you are considering hiring this contractor you may want to offer to get the materials for them to start with in lieu of the deposit.
Conclusion
You can save a lot of time and money by hiring a house painting contractor, so that your house is looking incredible in less time than if you did it. Be careful though not to hire a contractor just because they are offering you a ridiculously low price. This is your house, and a poorly done paint job may be something you have to live with for quite some time.
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