How Get Your House Fixed Without Losing Your Mind (or Your Wallet)
After "poaching" my handyman, my neighbor begged me to spill my secrets in a blog post. She said she never bothers vetting contractors anymore—if I hire them, they must be good. She also couldn’t understand how I manage to find the best people while juggling work, kids, and life chaos. The truth? Years of running high-stakes sourcing operations in my supply chain career have made me a master at sniffing out the best suppliers—whether it's for a multimillion-dollar project or fixing a dishwasher flood in my kitchen. And trust me, last year put my skills to the test. Between a challenging teen, health issues, a flagship product launch, layoffs, and a house that seemed determined to self-destruct (think: water damage, electrical fire, appliance issues, rats, termites, black mold—you name it), I had to streamline my contractor-finding process. The result? I found great contractors, saved about 20%, and stayed (mostly) sane.
My Foolproof Process for Finding the Best Contractors
1. Start a Document for Each Project
I use OneNote for everything as makes it easy to find the project later. David Allen (author of Getting Things Done) says you need a mind “clear as a mountain lake.” I don’t know about lakes, but I do know you need a system to store information so your brain doesn’t have to.
2. Find the Top 5 Vendors
Yelp is my go-to.
Ask friends & neighbors. Ideally, ones who aren’t in the middle of suing their contractor.
3. Read the 1-Star Reviews (Yes, even if they have mostly 5 stars!)
Look for patterns. Are people complaining about tardiness? Sloppy work? Mysteriously missing jewelry?
True story: I found a termite company with glowing 5-star reviews… but when I checked their 1-star reviews, three people said their houses were robbed. That’s a hard pass for me, thanks.
4. The Phone Test
Call the 3-5 vendors who survive the 1-star purge.
Take notes on who calls back and who ghosts you like a bad Tinder date.
5. Green Flags (aka, Maya Angelou’s Rule: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”)
They call back within 24 hours.
Pay attention to the vibe: Do they ask smart questions? Do they sound competent? If they sigh heavily when you ask for a quote, imagine how they'll react when you ask them to fix something.
They provide a written quote. No “Uh, I dunno, maybe $500?” nonsense.
6. Get Three Quotes. Always.
Even if you find two you like, keep going. That third quote is where the magic happens: better pricing, different services, or higher quality.
If you prefer a more expensive vendor (They wear shoe covers! They respond in complete sentences!), tell them they’re competing with a lower-priced option. Often, they’ll match or throw in extras.
7. Corporate vs. Local?
For some projects, I go big (like Costco, NextGen). For others, I support local businesses. If there is a mix, I get two quotes from corporate and two from locals—feel out which approach is right for your project, then let them battle it out.
8. If it is a big project, before you award, ask for References
They should provide at least 3. You don't need to call all 3, but they should have at least 3 happy customers. If they can only give you one reference, that's like a restaurant saying, “Oh, our food is great! Just ask my Nana.” Red flag.
Questions to ask:
"What was the scope of your project?" i.e., make sure you're not getting a reference for changing a light bulb when you really need someone to install a sump pump.
“Would you hire them again?” You’d be shocked how often the answer is no.
“What issues did you have, and how did they resolve them?” This is where maybe calling all 3 references will help you see if they have the same issue and how to avoid it.
“Is there anything I should know before hiring them?” Open ended questions always get the most surprising and usually insightful answers.
9. Be a good customer and write a Review
If they’re amazing? Give them 5 stars.
If they’re awful? Spare another homeowner your pain, and if you did your due diligence well, you'll be hearing from them to see how they can make you a happy customer.
AVOID: Yelp/Angie's Leads Bidding Wars
Letting random vendors bid on your project? That’s a recipe for spending your weekend sifting through companies that don’t have enough business. Like the saying goes, you need something done - ask the busiest person you know. I found my process saves time AND gets better results.
Pro Tip: Expect the Best and Be Prepared for the Worst
When we’re sourcing multi-million-dollar deals, my team maps out the escalation organization chart and assigns a relationship keeper. This means before any deals are signed, I usually get a few fancy dinners with their CEO. You don’t need to go that far, but knowing who the owner or executive in charge of your account is ahead of time makes problem-solving a snap if your account manager isn’t supporting your needs. Ask for that info before you award. "Can I get the name and contact number of the owner / VP responsible for this region?" If they ask why just say, "It's just part of my evaluation process. I find companies that do good work have no issues sharing this information".
During my dishwasher debacle, my insurance switched my adjuster, and she suddenly changed the rules after previously agreed expenses were incurred. After several attempts to resolve this with her and getting no response from her or her supervisor—an informative letter to my insurance company's CEO got things moving very quickly after that.
Pro Tip: Dealing with Insurance? Get Your Own Contractor!
A friend gave me this gem when my dishwasher turned my kitchen, living room and basement into a waterpark. I thought I’d just go with my insurance company’s preferred vendors because, hey, my insurance company is great and it saves me hassle, right?
Wrong.
Just like healthcare, the contractor-insurance-client relationship is a Bermuda Triangle of misaligned incentives. If your contractor is mainly getting work from your insurance company, guess whose interests they prioritize? (Hint: not yours.) Hire someone who works for YOU, not an adjuster trying to save the company money.
And there you have it: my battle-tested, chaos-proof contractor hiring system. May your home projects be smooth, your vendors reliable, and your roof stay leak-free. Good luck out there!