About HomeStarsConsumer Council report offers insight and suggestions for contractors and homeowners
The Consumers Council of Canada, an independent group which researches consumer issues, released a report this week on the Home Improvement industry called Renovation RipOffs, Problems and Solutions. The report examined issues to do with consumer complaints regarding renovations and the home improvement business.
The report was far reaching and well researched with extensive reading and researching done, as well as a cross Canada omnibus survey of over 1500 homeowners.
There were some very interesting conclusions which came out of the survey as noted by the Canadian Press article. Some of the key points which were raised were that wealthier and more educated homeowners and consumers were more likely to complain about a renovation gone wrong. And overall things fared well for contractors in industry with 55% of consumers reporting that everything went perfectly during a renovation. With over 28,000 points of reference at HomeStars, we’d probably suggest that number is higher. Our review data isn’t exactly scientific, but we find over 85% of reviews posted on the site are greater than a 5 rating, most of those being a 10, where nothing, or little went wrong.
The suggestions for homeowners before they hire a renovator in the report are excellent including:
- Get at least three quotes
- Make sure the quotes are for the same requirements
- Check references
- Educate themselves on the renovation, or hire a renovation adviser
- Understand the triple constraints of time, budgets and quality.
- Understand that it’s going to be difficult.
The report missed a couple things we’d also suggest which are to check licenses of your contractor with your local authorities, and, most importantly, to a full online research of the company you are going to hire, not only on HomeStars, but also with sites like Red Flag Deals, where an active discussion takes place on home improvement, as well as just doing a Google search on the companies you are going to hire. Don’t miss out on the power the internet offers to acquire information.
The report also suggests that the market for home improvement services is “undisciplined” and “unruly”. I’d suggest it’s a market with a low barrier to entry and a lot of small business operators who are trying to grow and manage their own businesses. In the past, there was a lack of information about these companies, and many could ‘fly-by-night’ and get away with poor work, this has changed. But with sites like HomeStars, and others, this is changing. A quick search for the company on google will turn up history of work performed. This is a resource consumers can and should use.
Posted by BrianS