Just like people, one may come across good and bad contractors. For an individual with little knowledge about construction, it may be difficult to ascertain if they are being cheated by their contractor.

However, more clarity can be achieved if one knows about the common tricks used by contractors to cheat or fleece their clients. To understand how to avoid getting cheated by your contractors, let us take a look at some common ways that contractors use to cheat people.

Advance payment scam – It is normal for contractors to ask for an advance for material payments. Nothing wrong with that. The problem arises when the contractor has no intention to complete the work. They may give excuses such as material supplies are not available or they are having labor or personal issues.

In some cases, the contractor may entirely stop responding to your calls. To avoid such a situation, you need to choose a contractor who has a proper office address and verifiable work history in the local area.

Using cheap materials – Whatever that is you are building, you will want it to last a long time. This will be possible if quality materials are used in the construction. A good contractor will ensure that the best quality materials are used. But if you hire a cheating contractor, they may use cheaper quality materials. And that too without your knowledge.

Unless you have familiarity with construction materials, it would be difficult to determine the quality of materials used. You can probably ask one of your friends or colleagues who has construction knowledge to assess the quality of materials being used.

Quoting higher estimate after initial work – To ensure you agree to the deal, a bad contractor will initially quote a low price for the job. But after things have been demolished and dug up, they will suddenly increase the price of the job. The common explanation is that the problem is more complex than it seemed initially.

While such situations can be true also, it is important for the contractor to tell you in advance about potential increases in costs. Before agreeing to the deal, make sure you ask your contractor to explain all potential cost escalations. This will help keep away bad contractors.

Slow-moving jobs – If a day’s work extends into several weeks, it is likely that you are dealing with a bad contractor. They may make various excuses to justify the delay in work. This happens when the contractor is juggling multiple projects all at once.

As a result, they may be focusing all their energy and resources on more profitable jobs. While ignoring your project altogether. Before agreeing to the deal, ask for discounts in case of work delays. This will help keep away bad contractors.

As is evident, there are various ways in which one can be cheated by a contractor. But with the tips and recommendations provided above, one can easily avoid bad contractors.

The post How To Avoid Getting Cheated By Your Contractor? first appeared on Newspatrolling.com.

The value of your home equity will remain an unusable asset unless you take steps to unlock it. As you continue to pay your mortgage installments, the home equity value continues to rise. Value of home equity may also increase if there is a rise in property prices in your area. Rather than let it sit idle, you can make use of the value of home equity. There are various options, as to how you can take full advantage of your home equity. Some of these are described below.

Home improvement – Living for years in the same environment can get a bit boring. The solution is home improvement or home renovation that you can get done via a home equity line of credit (HELOC). The process for HELOC will be similar to that of applying for a mortgage. Your ability to pay your loan will be evaluated by examining your credit score, debt-to-income ratio, annual income, etc. The lender will also assess the current market value of your home.

College education – Getting access to top quality education can be a big boost for your child’s career. However, college education can be quite expensive. You can use HELOC to fund your child’s college education. Using HELOC works out better than student loan when you do not want your child to be burdened with debt at an early age.

Debt payments – Using HELOC, you can pay off your high interest loans such as car loans and credit card debt. With HELOC, you can consolidate all your debts into a single debt. This will make life simpler and you will probably be able to benefit from a lower interest rate. When consolidating loans using HELOC, make sure you will be able to repay the installments. Because defaulting on credit card dues won’t affect your home, but defaulting on HELOC can make you lose your home.

Emergency expenses – Financial advisors often recommend that you create an emergency fund to deal with unpredictable developments. However, this may not be possible for everyone. Thankfully, you can use HELOC to deal with a temporary financial crisis. For example, it can be situations such as losing your job or having to pay large medical bills.

Starting a new business – Every new venture will require some amount of funds to begin with. Borrowing from market sources can attract high interest rates. If you are confident about your repaying capability, you can consider HELOC to fund your new business. HELOC should be avoided in case you are venturing into a high-risk, high-profit scenario.

There are various other ways in which you can use home equity to your advantage. For example, pursuing higher education, wedding expenses, etc. Just make sure you use the funds in a careful manner and avoid being extravagant. After all, unlocking home equity means new installments to be paid every month.

The post How To Take Full Advantage Of Your Home Equity? first appeared on Newspatrolling.com.