One of the most common complaints of renovators is not getting a good tradesperson. It is crucial to get a tradesperson who is in sync with your vision because your renovation success relies on them—the trades team is your ticket to glory. However, it really can be a challenge to find trades that can do good work within the constraints of a tight budget.
In today’s episode, I will walk you down the process of finding and working with a reliable tradesperson. We’ll cover the characteristics of a competent tradesperson, how to handle your trades, where to find steady trades, the role of the document package, and how you can keep your tradespeople happy.
Check out these podcast highlights below, and make sure that you tune in to show for the specifics of finding a reliable trade.
How To Find Reliable Trades
The Characteristics of a Good Tradesperson
- Someone who gets in and gets out quickly and gets a good job done promptly and efficiently
- Someone courteous
- Someone whom you enjoy working with
- Someone who works clean and would not leave you to clean up
- Someone who's going to turn up as scheduled
- Someone who does quality work, is reliable and will push the envelope for you
- Someone who’s going to prioritise your work
Handling Your Trades
- Teach your tradesperson on how to treat you.
- One-strike rule: If they do not turn up or do not inform you of their absences, don’t pursue them. Let them know what’s acceptable and what’s not.
- Look at their point of view as well. There needs to be a give and take in the relationship.
- You need to be an excellent communicator.
- Do your due diligence and make sure that they’re going to meet your criteria before you engage them.
Finding Reliable Trades
- Word of mouth
- Local trades
- Home improvement pages
Document Package
- It lets them know what’s involved in the job.
- You get an opportunity to fit down your expectations of them. You’ll get the feel of how it would be like working with them, and you’ll get feedback from them as well.
- You come across as very professional, which also helps with finding the right trades.
- You will be able to fit down the timeframe for the project in that document package.
The Process
- Put together the document package.
- Have a meeting with your people and talk them through the project.
- Give them a timeframe to quote on and wait for the quotes to come in.
- Sort them in order of price. Watch out for the duds.
- Do your due diligence.
- Make your selection and appoint the trade.
- Sign a contract and pay a deposit.
- Make sure that the deposit you pay is a legal amount.
Keeping Your Trades Happy
- Look after them.
- Communicate well and keep them posted on progress.
- Monitor supplies and make sure that you’ve got the supplies available on time as well.
Head over to iTunes if you have any questions or reviews. Join the discussion on our Facebook group, She Renovates.
Connect with Bernadette Janson on The School of Renovating and tune in to the She Renovates Podcast. You can also reach Bernadette through Twitter and LinkedIn.
This episode is sponsored by the Airbnb Empire Online Course. It’s a new online course to learn how to build your first wildly successful six-figure, short-term rental business. You’ll learn how to go from $0 to $100,000 per year.
Thanks for listening!
