Seniors can be victims of unscrupulous maintenance contractors

Perhaps I misunderstand what you've said. It appears that you say you know little or nothing about
maintenance, yet you condemn the work done for you as incorrect.

You appear to have an internet connection, and time on your hands.

This raises the question, why didn't you research first?
"Correct way to repair a roof", for example.

You get on the phone, chat. "I want my roof repair using XYZ methods and materials.
Can you please give me a quote on a job like that?"

If you cannot or do not wish to sell and move, would an option be to sublet part of your home
in barter for a small sum of cash and maintenance services?

Ad in nearby city newspaper or something like Craigslist:

"Want to get out of the city? Want to avoid the virus?
Skilled handyman? Local services are terrible where I live. If you are better at these skills,
you could easily become the best locally here, and put them out of business.
Begin by moving into my home, to barter a small amount of cash and your services
maintaining my home. Scammers need not apply, as all prospectives will have to provide photo ID and pass an
extensive background check."
 

bearcat said:
I am very sorry you had these experiences. This is why it is sometimes best to sell a home and rent instead.
The landlord then has to deal with these headaches, not you, and if a landlord does not maintain a property,
most states have strong laws and simple procedures for enforcement.
As clearly you are on the internet, you can research the reputation of service providers. Yelp is one place to begin.
Click to expand...
If you read the thread before responding, you'll see that Deb did internet research before hiring. And we all know that there are no bogus "reviews" on the internet. :rolleyes:
 
My son just text me....He told me there are scammers out there....So don't be fooled to thinking they will ….
They probably phone you....Don't answer the phone who you don't know who they are...
And Mostly they are calling people that have home phones.....If you don't know the number....Let them just phone, they will
stop and go to someone else.....Don't open your door if you don't know who they are....
 

Being a homeowner almost requires that a person have some basic repair skills, and/or be savvy enough to find a reputable person to do the work for them. If those "skills" are not part of a person's abilities, they would be better off Renting, and letting the landlord deal with maintenance.
 
debodun said:
This has really soured me on hiring contractors. I've had carpenters, painters, plumbers and outdoor projects done and very few turn out on budget, time, quality of materials I expected. Most seem to have their own agenda apart from mine and forget that because I am the one paying, I am the boss, but they just go ahead with what they want to do. It seems as soon as they start work, they start cutting corners. Some won't even put anything on paper an want to be paid in cash. I know I am not alone; often there are stories on the news about some contractor that cheated a senior. I have four strikes against me: 1) I am a woman. 2) I live alone. 3) I am a senior. 4) I don't have extensive knowledge about these things. I think contractors sense this and take advantage of it.
Click to expand...
Look at "Angies List" in the future and ALWaYS demand references and call the reference to speak with them.
 
MarciKS said:
Is Angie's list as creepy as Craig's list? If so, I wouldn't get nothing off there.
Click to expand...

Angie's List is nothing at all like Craig's list. You don't buy things from Angie's list. Companies can not pay to get included in Angie's List. Angie’s List is a service listing and review site that offers user-based rankings and reviews of service professionals in local areas.

So if you are considering hiring XYZ roofing, you can check Angie's List to see what others' interactions with that roofer have been like, i.e, general satisfaction level with the work of the company, their reliability in doing work when promised and as promised, the price range for that particular work done, and other details. The reviews are not anonymous, and they are checked by Angie's list to be sure they are authentically made by actual customers of whatever company.

It's a very good resource for finding service professionals, IMHO. I've used them many times.
 
I have been a home owner all my adult life. I was also very handy so I did everything myself; even built 2 homes. Now, I am a renter & I love it. When it storms outside; I just smile looking out my 2nd floor window. Each to their own but I would never go back to having a home. Best to sell the home, put the money in the bank & live a carefree retirement & keep smiling.
 
debodun said:
This has really soured me on hiring contractors. I've had carpenters, painters, plumbers and outdoor projects done and very few turn out on budget, time, quality of materials I expected. Most seem to have their own agenda apart from mine and forget that because I am the one paying, I am the boss, but they just go ahead with what they want to do. It seems as soon as they start work, they start cutting corners. Some won't even put anything on paper an want to be paid in cash. I know I am not alone; often there are stories on the news about some contractor that cheated a senior. I have four strikes against me: 1) I am a woman. 2) I live alone. 3) I am a senior. 4) I don't have extensive knowledge about these things. I think contractors sense this and take advantage of it.
Click to expand...
I’ve had similar experiences. I’ve learned to educate myself about the job to be done and always get several estimates from several contractors, and on the final selection get a quote in writing that contains the total cost for the job and the start and finish date. Their record can be checked with the Better Business Bureau although this is not a comprehensive source and many contractors (and complaints) aren’t registered with them.
 
I needed my house stained and got a few estimates. Most couldn't do it for a month or so. One guy came over and said, right away! Gave me a price, said he wanted cash. "Nope, I'll pay by check!" Then he wanted to look in my gallery. He found and old 1916 Colt s/a used in the Mexican revolution. He said he would trade straight across for the job. "Yes!" He did an excellent job in two days. He hand brushed it instead of spraying it and gave me the new brush and leftover stain when he left! I wanted to sell the revolver anyway so it turned out "win, win!"
Oh, Happy days!
 


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