Charlie:
Randy’s down in Rockport, Tom, and he’s got an age old question for us about finding a builder he can trust. He says he’s got a canal lot in Rockport, and he’s looking for a builder. He wants to know what are your tips on finding a reputable one?
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Tom:
Obviously, word of mouth, work you’ve seen in the neighborhood, people you talk to. That’s all common stuff when you move to a new neighborhood. You ask people about doctors and lawyers and people around town. As far as what you would ask a builder when you go to screen him after you find the people you’re going to talk to, get a certificate of insurance mailed to you from their insurance company, ask what bank he does business with, and go ahead and call his … Usually, everybody has a banking representative you can call and say, “Hey, has this guy belonged to your bank a while? Does he have a business account?” They’ll tell you if he does or not. Believe me. You’ll hear real quick.
Find out some of his major suppliers and call the accounts payable and see if he pays his bills on time and tell him you’re going to do all this, by the way.
Charlie:
Probably good idea right then.
Tom:
Make sure he has a place of business and not a pickup truck. You want to be able to knock on a door and go talk to someone at a desk.
Charlie:
You want to know where he’ll be served if you ever have to.
Tom:
That’s true, too. Then look at his projects, but when you ask a builder to provide these things, they’ll either say one of two things. “Of course,” and give it to you, or secondly, “Yeah, we’ll get back to you,” and never call you back because they don’t want to mess with you.
Charlie:
“We’ll get right back to you as soon as we’re done in the Witness Protection Plan.”
Tom:
“We’ll send it to you,” and you never hear from them. That’s the way to do it.