General Service Contractors Perform Which Of The Following?

Protecting Consumers

Consumer Information and Publications:

Home Repair and Structure

If you are like most Illinoisans, your home is your well-nigh valuable fiscal asset. Performing upgrades on your home in the form of a new roof, new kitchen, or addition can increase its value, merely home improvements can besides be needlessly expensive and frustrating if you lot pay for work that is not performed, work that does not meet the edifice codes in your town, or work that is of poor quality. For these reasons, it's important to take extra care when yous rent someone to work on your dwelling house. Each year the Office of the Illinois Attorney General receives thousands of complaints involving disputes between home owners and home repair contractors. Habitation owners tin can protect themselves past following some important rules and asking the right questions.

Common Home Repair Scams

Complaints received by the Office of the Illinois Attorney General demonstrate that unscrupulous home repair contractors use some common techniques to proceeds the confidence of domicile owners. Unscrupulous contractors might tell you they accept "leftovers" from a larger job and can do the repair work for you at a discount. They might endeavour to frighten yous past claiming that your firm contains health hazards or code violations that must be fixed right abroad. They might claim to exist a representative of your insurance visitor in an endeavor to get you lot to hold to piece of work they say your insurance policy volition pay for. You might exist offered a "free furnace cleaning" by a heating and cooling company as an excuse to sell yous a new furnace you practise non demand. In general, consumers should beware when a habitation repair contractor:

contacts you lot or comes to your abode uninvited;
tells you that you need to brand repairs immediately or your prophylactic may be in danger;
pressures you to sign papers today or talks too quickly, attempting to misfile you;
tells yous that he or she is doing work in your neighborhood and claims to have "extra materials" left over from another chore;
quotes a price that's out of line with other estimates;
offers to bulldoze y'all to your bank to withdraw funds to pay for his or her piece of work;
can be reached only past leaving messages with an answering service;
drives an unmarked vehicle or has out-of-state license plates; or
asks you to pay for the entire job up forepart.

Before You Outset Your Project

Y'all should e'er consummate 2 basic steps earlier contracting for any abode repair or home comeback projection: one) determine the telescopic of work to be done and 2) ready specifications for the job. Earlier you commencement your project, make sure to ascertain the scope of the work that you lot are going to undertake. To ascertain the scope of piece of work, write down exactly what you want done in your habitation, then that when y'all talk to a contractor, yous will be able to focus on what yous actually demand—and not be sold additional or unnecessary work. You should also write downwardly the specifications for the chore. The specifications should include such factors as the time frame in which you want the work washed, the blazon of materials you want the contractor to use, how y'all intend to pay for the job, and the payment schedule for the contractor, subcontractors, and suppliers. Your list of specifications can include anything about the project that is important to you and tin can serve as a reference for you when yous interview contractors. If you think through the scope and specifications of the projection ahead of time and put your expectations in writing, you can show a contractor what you need clearly and rapidly.

Finding a Contractor

You lot should detect out as much as you can about a contractor before hiring him or her. You can do this by calling the Illinois Chaser General and the Better Business concern Bureau. Contact your local village hall or township to find out if there is a license requirement and if there have been any complaints made almost the companies you lot might use. Inquire for recommendations from friends, neighbors, or coworkers who take had habitation improvement work washed. Don't presume that all contractors who advertise in the "home improvement" section of the Yellow Pages take a valid license or that they're reputable. Go written estimates from several firms—but don't automatically choose the lowest bidder. There are other factors also cost to consider. The following is a listing of the basic steps for choosing a contractor or home repair company:

Check contractor complaint records with the Illinois Chaser General and the Meliorate Business organization Bureau.
Go recommendations and references. Talk to friends, family, and other people or whom the contractor has done like work.
Get at least 3 written estimates from contractors who accept come to your abode to evaluate what needs to be washed. Be sure the estimates are based on the same piece of work so that you lot tin make meaningful comparisons.
Make certain the contractor meets licensing and registration requirements past contacting the appropriate governmental authority.
Get the names of suppliers and ask if the contractor makes timely payments.
Contact your local building inspection department to check for permit and inspection requirements.
Be certain your contractor has the required personal liability, property damage, and worker's compensation insurance for his or her workers and subcontractors. Get copies of the contractor'southward proof of insurance. As well check with your insurance company to find out if yous are covered for whatever injury or damage that may occur.
Be wary of businesses that operate out of mail service office boxes, private mailboxes, and suites instead of local business addresses.
Insist on a complete written contract. Know exactly what work will be done, the quality of the materials that volition be used, warranties, timetables, the total price of the job, and the schedule of payments.

Inquire the contractor if subcontractors volition exist used on the projection. If yes, inquire to meet them, and make sure they accept electric current insurance coverage and licenses. Too enquire them if this contractor has paid them on time in the past. A "mechanic's lien" could be placed on your dwelling if your contractor fails to pay the subcontractors and suppliers who worked on or provided materials for your projection, fifty-fifty if you have fully paid the contractor. This ways the subcontractors and suppliers could go to court to forcefulness you to sell your home to satisfy their unpaid bills from your project. (Run across the section below on Mechanic'southward Liens and Lien Waivers.)

Checking References

Past talking with some of a prospective contractor's old customers, you can find out of import information nearly the business you are considering hiring. When speaking with these references, you want to ask:

May I visit your domicile to see the completed job?
Were you satisfied with the projection? Was information technology completed on time?
Did the contractor go on you informed about the status of the project and whatsoever issues along the way?
Were in that location unexpected costs?
Did workers show up on time?
Did they make clean up later on finishing the job?
Would yous utilize the contractor once more?

Contracts for Habitation Repair in Illinois

Earlier signing any home repair or remodeling contract over $1,000, a person engaging in the business of dwelling repair and remodeling is required in Illinois to provide the customer with a copy of the "Dwelling Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights" pamphlet.

A contract spells out the who, what, where, when, and toll of your project. The agreement should be articulate, concise, and consummate. In Illinois, a written contract with all costs enumerated is required for dwelling repair or remodeling piece of work over $1,000. This written contract or work gild is required by law to country total price, including parts and materials and any accuse for the estimate. In improver, the contract is required to give the proper name and address of the person engaged in the business of home repair or remodeling. If the contractor uses a post role box, mail service, or agent to receive business correspondence, the understanding must country the contractor'due south home accost.

Earlier you sign a contract, make certain it contains:

the contractor'south full proper noun, address, and telephone number;
a description of the work to be performed;
a detailed listing of all materials, including product, color, model, size, and brand name;
the full toll for piece of work performed, including charges for estimates and additional labor;
all oral promises made by the contractor in writing;
a description of how alter orders will exist handled;
starting and estimated completion dates;
a schedule and method of payment, including down payment, subsequent payments, and final payment;
written guarantees if the contractor warrants his or her work and product.

If the company won't put its promises in writing, look for a company that will.

Do not sign the contract until you read it carefully. If the salesperson pressures you to sign earlier you've had a take a chance to read and understand all of the contract, DO Non SIGN Information technology. Never rely on the salesperson to read or explain the contract to you. If you do not understand the contract, inquire a trusted friend or lawyer to assist you. Never sign a contract that has blank spaces. Finally, be sure to get a copy of everything you lot sign when y'all sign it.

Retrieve, yous have 3 business days to cancel any contract, if the auction is made and signed at your home. The contractor CANNOT take this right away from you by initiating work, selling your contract to a lender, or whatsoever other tactic. (Meet the Illinois Chaser General fact canvass, Three Mean solar day Right to Abolish Home Repair Contracts.)

Paying for Dwelling Repair Projects

Beware of contractors who enquire y'all to pay for the entire chore up front. Negotiate a payment schedule that is based on completion of specific stages of the job. Your downwardly payment should exist equally little every bit you tin negotiate with the contractor. You and the contractor may agree to deposit the contract money with an contained escrow amanuensis, such as a bank or title company. By doing this, payments can exist made as the work progresses and just if you are satisfied that the work is performed to your expectations and that subcontractors have been fully paid.

If yous need to borrow money to pay for your dwelling house repairs, shop around kickoff. The financing offered by a contractor may be expensive, so bank check with your local banks or your credit spousal relationship to run into if yous tin observe meliorate rates. Be extremely cautious about using your habitation as security for a dwelling house improvement loan. If you fail to repay the loan equally agreed, you could lose your dwelling house. If you choose to take out a loan to pay for your dwelling house repairs, you should have a private attorney review the loan documents before yous sign an agreement. (Encounter the Illinois Attorney Full general fact sheet, Financing Dwelling Repairs.)

Mechanic'due south Liens and Lien Waivers

A mechanic's lien protects a subcontractor in the result that the general contractor fails to pay for the subcontractor'south services or supplies. In that issue, the subcontractor can ask a court to put a lien, or concord, on your holding until the debt is paid. As the belongings owner, you are responsible for the debt, and you will non exist able to sell or finance your holding until all liens are paid or lifted.

Duties of the Full general Contractor and Subcontractors

Under Illinois law, the homeowner must request—and the contractor must provide—a written list of the names and addresses of "all parties furnishing materials and labor and of the amounts due or to go due to each." This listing, or affidavit, must appear either as role of the contract or in a separate printed argument, and it must contain the post-obit language:

"THE LAW REQUIRES THAT THE CONTRACTOR SHALL SUBMIT A SWORN Argument OF PERSONS FURNISHING MATERIALS AND LABOR BEFORE Whatsoever PAYMENTS ARE REQUIRED TO BE Fabricated TO THE CONTRACTOR."

The police force too requires every subcontractor listed in the affidavit to notify the homeowner, either personally or by certified alphabetic character, when he or she has furnished materials or performed labor on the homeowner'due south remodeling project. This detect preserves the subcontractor'south correct to put a lien on your holding, and it must incorporate the proper name and address of the subcontractor or material provider, the starting engagement of the piece of work performed, the type of piece of work performed or materials provided, and the name of the general contractor who requested the work to be done. This notice is required by police to contain the following argument:

"Discover TO Possessor

"The subcontractor providing this detect has performed piece of work for or delivered fabric to your abode improvement contractor. These services or materials are being used in the improvements to your residence and entitle the subcontractor to file a lien against your residence if the services or materials are not paid for by your home comeback contractor. A lien waiver will exist provided to your contractor when the subcontractor is paid, and y'all are urged to asking this waiver from your contractor when paying for your dwelling house improvements."

Lien Waivers

By giving you a signed lien waiver, a supplier of materials or services for your dwelling repair projection acknowledges that he or she has no right to file a mechanic's lien against your property. In other words, the supplier acknowledges having been paid in total for those materials or services. It is important that yous get these written and signed waivers from every subcontractor who has worked on your dwelling in the course of the project. Do non brand the last payment to the contractor until you lot are satisfied with the work and accept obtained signed waivers showing that every subcontractor has been paid. Y'all can find blank "waivers of lien" forms at home stores, print shops, and on the Internet.

Protecting Yourself During the Project

Keep all paperwork related to your home repair projection in one place. This includes copies of the contract, change orders (blessing a exchange of materials or services), and correspondence with your contractors and suppliers. Keep a log of all phone calls, conversations, and activities associated with the project. You also might want to take photographs recording the work'south progress. These records will prove important if problems arise with your project, during or after structure.

Before making the concluding payment and signing off, make sure that: the piece of work meets the standards spelled out in the contract; the job site has been thoroughly cleaned up; you have written warranties for materials and workmanship; and y'all have written proof that all subcontractors and suppliers accept been paid.

What You Can Do if You are the Victim of a Home Repair Scam

If you take a problem with your dwelling house improvement project, first try to resolve it with the contractor. Many disputes can exist resolved at this level. Follow whatever phone calls with a letter summarizing the conversation. Send the letter to the contractor by certified mail service, render receipt requested. The receipt will be your proof that the contractor received your letter. Go on a copy of the letter and receipt in your files.

You can also contact the Office of the Illinois Attorney General to file a consumer complaint for cooperative mediation at any fourth dimension you feel yous demand help.

If you can't become satisfaction through personal negotiation or cooperative mediation, consider consulting a lawyer to explore what options you have for resolving your dispute in court. Continue in heed that there are time deadlines to cancel sales contracts and pursue legal claims. The Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 505/) allows you to sue if you have been damaged by unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Yous may be able to file a lawsuit for monetary damages and your attorney's fees.

Finally, don't be afraid or embarrassed to call the police if you are in a state of affairs that makes you uncomfortable.

Much more information on home repair is bachelor on the Web site of Illinois Chaser General Kwame Raoul, including:

Financing Home Repair

Iii Day Right to Cancel Dwelling Repair Contracts

Home Repair and Construction in pdf format