Deciding to complete a home remodel in Long Beach, CA inevitably leads to many more decisions—some of which are paramount to the overall success of the renovation project. One of the most important decisions you will likely make is choosing from among the construction companies in Long Beach, CA.
The construction company you choose can make or break your project. Make the wrong choice and your home could be under construction for much longer than you had hoped and go wildly over budget. You could also be left with a home remodel that is not up to your standards. In the worst-case scenario, you could hire a construction company that disappears before the job is finished—taking your deposits with them.
However, despite what you may have heard, there are still good, honest construction companies in Long Beach that will do a great job on your residential remodel. You just might have to do a little bit of work to find them. You want to start by looking for these red flags so you know which ones to avoid:
Don’t Even Consider an Unlicensed Construction Company
There are plenty of people out there advertising their construction companies that are operating illegally. These are people who have simply printed up business cards and declared themselves open for business. In the State of California, a person or company must obtain a license from the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) to be able to legally take on jobs that cost more than $500. As part of getting licensed in California, a person must prove their knowledge of the building code, demonstrate experience in construction, and also purchase a bond. The bond protects you, the homeowner, in case the construction company doesn’t finish the job or does shoddy work. You can make a claim against their bond and recoup at least some, if not all, of your money.
Don’t Work with a Construction Company Without Relevant Experience
Even if a construction company in Long Beach, CA is licensed, you still want to make sure that they are up for the type of project you have in mind. Some construction companies are great at completing smaller projects, such as building a deck or changing out flooring, but struggle to complete larger, more complex projects like large home remodels. Larger projects require project management experience. They typically involve bringing in subcontractors for specialized work.
As you interview construction companies in Long Beach, make sure to ask them about previous projects they’ve completed that have a similar scope to yours.
Don’t Discount Poor Reviews
Now that online reviews on sites like Yelp and Google have been around for a while, most people understand that you need to take bad reviews of home improvement professionals with a grain of salt. There are some homeowners who will never be satisfied or who have unrealistic expectations. They leave negative reviews online even if the home improvement professional did exactly what they said they would do. That being said, you still want to look at negative reviews and try to read between the lines. Is the homeowner angry about something that seems legitimate? Are there multiple negative reviews that make similar claims? If so, you may want to move on to one of the other construction companies in Long Beach, CA.
