It’s the time to be on high alert for all those hit by Hurricane Sandy or are looking to get home improvement at this point of time. The time is very important because during the times when some place is hit by disasters like Hurricane, people known as gypsies or storm chasers occur from nowhere and offer to do home improvement at your place for a very small amount.
The trick is very old but each time something like Sandy happens anywhere, people use the trick and many innocent or gullible people looking to get their job done for less, fall prey to them and then they disappear in the same fashion as they appear.
The BBB has advised people not to fall pray to their emotions when it comes to home repairs or improvement following a disaster. It has advised people to use only legitimate contractors for the job and has even advised them to seek two to three estimates from different contractors before starting the work to get the best price and quality for the job.
The BBB has even asked people to ask the contractor for his license and check his credentials before giving him the work and money. It has asked people to check the rating awarded to the contractor and to check if the company is bonded and insured for injuries during work.
The Attorney General of New Jersey, Jeffrey S. Chiesa has added that no matter the urgency of your repairs or how desperate your need for repairs, you should stop and check every detail about the contractor that you wish to employ for home improvement.
It has come to light that often people pay huge amounts in advance to the contractors to get their work done in urgency. But the state law does not specify that one must pay 50% or more of the entire project at the start of work. In fact the proper method of payment should be one third at the time of start, another one third at midway and the last one third at the completion of the work.
Another important thing that people should take care while getting their job done through a home improvement contractor is that he should be a qualified contractor with proper knowledge and tools to carry out the job on hand. It came to the notice of authorities that several people that did not have any experience of doing home improvement had taken up home improvement contracts with people hit by Hurricane Irene in the past.