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| Program Details |
This program will:
- Show you how to locate and evaluate home contractors.
- Explain how to evaluate bids and contracts.
- Teach you how to protect yourself and avoid being taken advantage of.
- Provide you with a checklist of guidelines to follow when hiring and working with contractors.
ISBN: (DVD) 0-9741233-1-5 (VHS) 0-9741233-0-7
UPC: (DVD) 822288-0012-9-2 (VHS) 822288-0011-3-1
This video is brought to you by the Better Business Bureau working in coordination with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Through educational programs such as this one, we supply information to help you make more informed buying decisions as a consumer. Information for this program was developed through extensive research, examination of consumer complaints, interviews with victims, home contractors and industry experts and professionals.
| Program Reviews |
"Home remodeling: welcome to the money pit. As I write these words, we are currently in week three of out one-week bathroom remodel (replace old bathtub with Jacuzzi, sheetrock and repaint, and lay down new vinyl floor). Although the job is actually going well in most respects, my wife and I failed to nail down a time schedule with our contractor before the remodel began-one of the suggestions found in the latest Better Business Bureau-sponsored consumer education program Hiring a Home Contractor. Hosted by builder/contractor Rosie Romero, this combination how-to/horror show (with “actual victim home movie” footage of less fortunate homeowners who were hosed by unscrupulous contractor) is divided up into 10 somewhat overlapping and somewhat repetitive segments that nevertheless contain useful information about selecting a contractor (and checking to see if he/she is bonded, licensed, and insured), evaluating bids, drafting a contract (this is where that timeline would appear), coping with stress (although the suggestion that one-room remodels are “almost equivalent in stress to losing a dear family member” seems ridiculously out of whack), keeping critical records, checking progress, and monitoring for warning signs. Throughout, Romero offers tips that are just as often related to general homeownership (such as replacing the anode to extend the life of your hot water heater) as to hiring a home contractor. Sure to be popular (and definitely needed), this is recommended. Aud: P. (R Pitman) "
Video Librarian
"The Better Business Bureau, producer of this program, reports receiving over four million requests a year for home-related complaints-with home repair and contractors leading the “Top 12 Inquiries” in 2002. Hiring a Home Contractor, created in the response to these statistics, guides the consumer through the contractor selection process, punctuating advice with unrelated but potentially useful tips on topics such as energy efficiency and with stories of victims of contractor fraud. The stories get the point across. For example, when contractors don’t pay the subcontractors working on the job, homeowners may be liable even though all their payments were timely. Some of the victims featured here were left with half-finished jobs and liens against their homes totaling tens of thousands of dollars. These true stories leave the viewer more than ready to follow the solid advice on locating, selecting, engaging, monitoring, and evaluating contractors to avoid this kind of nightmare. Information is presented in a logical order, and the narrator, a home contractor, a home contractor, is straightforward and easy to understand. At its modest price, Hiring a Home Contractor, is essential for public libraries. The DVD offers access to chapters and to the “tips” segments. One hopes future BBB releases will take better advantage of the format by including checklists or additional consumer information, making an excellent program even better. -Courtney Deines-Jones"
Library Journal
"Clever graphics introduce this presentation hosted by Arizona home remodeling expert and contractor Rosie Romero. Romero explains how to evaluate bids and contracts. He repeatedly suggests that potential clients do background checks on the people they hire and check licensing, insurance, and bonding credentials. The home building expert concludes with a list of warning signs developed by a contractors’ licensing board. Although the information is nicely organized, chapter numbers on the DVD menu do not correspond with the program’s segment numbers. Nevertheless, this should not pose a problem to consumers who will welcome the helpful information. Nancy McCray"
Booklist
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