It does not matter if your upcoming home improvement is large or small because you will always want to know what type of a Contracting Company you are getting with into business. This is a large market and scanning through all the contracting companies in Dubai is near impossible. Also, you might end up spending days or months on end if your construction or remodeling project is pretty lengthy. It is the same with a new relationship that you form or a new job you have applied for. You will always want to make sure what exactly you are getting into beforehand. Here are 5 pivotal questions you can ask your potential contracting company to get to know them better.
Before you sign your contract (yes it’s a must to sign a physical contract; do not settle for verbal agreements), make sure you ask these 5 simple questions to make yourself prepared for your next big project of home improvement.
QUESTION NO 1:
DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE A LICENSE AND A WORKERS COMPENSATION AND LIABILITY INSURANCE? IF YES, CAN I KEEP A COPY?
If you are dealing with a contract for home improvement, it is vital that your contractor company is licensed and owns the Workers Compensation and Liability Insurance in general. It is quite common to get hurt when carrying out hands on projects like these. You will not be liable during an accident among the workers when undertaking your project of home improvement if your contractor company has a workers compensation and liability insurance. Most of the reliable contracting companies in Dubai will have a liability and workers insurance.
You must remember to ask to see these documents. We all love to take everybody for their own word but insisting on seeing the solid proof of their claim about the insurance policies is not something you should pass up for. In addition to this, you should also make sure that the company’s expiration date on the insurance will not bypass the expected date of the completion of your home improvement project.
BONUS TIP: You must keep in mind that you could probably be liable for other legal financial charges and any injury costs if the company you hire does not have either of the insurance mentioned above.
QUESTION NO 2:
WHAT DO I NEED TO BE DOING WHEN THE PROJECT STARTS?
As a home owner, you will never be free of random tasks till you approve the final product even though you have already signed the contract with the license contracting company of your choice. Most of the contracting companies in Dubai will ask the home owners to pull certain permits. Depending on the scale of the work that needs to be completed, you will require the building department from your locality to either approve or pull certain kinds of permits. You may also require a permit from your city if you are adding something like an attic, bedroom, bathroom or even a porch. Since there are many contracting companies in Dubai that do not agree to seek such permits for their clients, you will have to carry the burden sometimes. Nevertheless, it is always a great option if you could find yourself a company that agrees to pull the permits for you. If you do it yourself, you will not have to pay your contractor but it is definitely not worth the added responsibility of the project and also the commitment of time with your building departments.
QUESTION NO 3:
CAN I GET WRITTEN WARRANTIES?
This question is pretty obvious but it is still very important for you to ask this. Wouldn’t you want a written guarantee from your contracting company that the project will be done correctly, under budget and in the promised time span before you invest over $ 50,000 in remodelling your kitchen. Most of the reliable contracting companies in Dubai will ensure this by giving you a warranty in written form. This will not only protect you as a home owner but it also shows that your contractor company can complete the project well and is confident if any issue occurs after many years.
QUESTION NO 4:
CAN YOU GIVE ME A LIST OF YOUR REFERENCES?
It is a great idea and a foolproof way to find out whether your potential contracted employee is good enough by directly hearing from the people with whom they have worked with before. This is the same principle with contractor companies. Directly contact their current clients, previous clients they have worked for or pretty much anyone else who they have given you. Since this is a business arrangement, it is always better to get more information and minimize the level of surprises.
BONUS TIP: You should remember that there is a reason why they are giving you these select references. There is a high possibility these references will be saying only good things about their service. Your job is to find out if their stories match after taking with all of them. If everything they tell you is too good to be true, you are probably right.
QUESTION NO 5:
HAVE YOU DONE PROJECTS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO MINE? CAN I TAKE A LOOK AT THE RESULTS?
It would be great if some of the contacts of the references they have given you have done similar projects to yours. If not, ask your contracting company if at all they have undertaken any similar work. However, keep in mind that your contracting company in question could still be your best choice even if they haven’t done similar projects before. Having said that, it is a lot of risks to invest a lot of money (home improvement projects are no joke!) in a rookie. You will be better off with a company that has already done projects that are similar to yours.
Now that you are aware of what questions you should ask your contracting company, take the initiative to find out local contractors working in your area to make your home improvement dreams come true.
