Tuesday, March 29, 2011

We're Back

Hi There!  We made it back from the Yuba Home and garden Show.  What a weekend it was.  Friday and Saturday were washouts with low attendance but Sunday was the best and out did both days before.  We saw some of our friends from the Sac Home Show and they were delighted to see us.  It was fun to meet new people and watch exhibitor demonstrations.       

During the course of the weekend an ex-.com executive came by our booth and gave us some valuable advice on to run a successful e-business.  And, again we got a lot of advice from many contractor on what they would like to see done.  Granted many of the contractors concerns were similar to what the others were telling us at the from the Sacramento Home Show.  So, were going to make the most our of all the suggestions and do our best to integrate them into the Rate My Contractor website.  Our next Home Show is in Vaciville and is scheduled for April 15, 16, and 17th.  See you all their.  Any comments or suggestions feel free to leave them below in the comments section.  

RMC Team 

Monday, March 21, 2011

T'was a Wet One

Welcome back fellow readers and fans.  Did ya have a good weekend?  Great!  Most of the us here had a terrific weekend too.  We'll we made the most out of it after mother nature drenched us with torrential down pours through out Saturday and Sunday.  Some of us had yards that needed to be cleaned and prepped for spring seeding, other had a bit of indoor spring cleaning.  However, with all the rain we had this weekend the outdoor activities had to be postponed until next weekend.

Some of our contracting buddies had preselected estimates for this past weekend and all were blown out by the the storm.  "I had 8 estimates set up for Sat and Sunday, and then 5 of them canceled[due to rain] and the others were their but all in all it would of been nice to have a full weekend," A.J. Crawford, Straight Edge Painting.  This kind of outcome makes the contracting industry discouraging because of all time and effort put into finding and setting clients up.  But hey!  That's the name of the game. 

RMC TEAM

Friday, March 18, 2011

Asking the right questions

Choosing the perfect contractor can be a daunting task.  It could even be the make it or break it part of your home improvement project.  This can be a very stressful and over whelming for anyone finding a contractor to take on any home improvement project.  So many questions run through home owner’s minds when searching for that perfect contractor.  What if they mess up?  Can I trust them in my house?  Are they over charging me? The list goes on and on.  The best way to overcome this kind of emotional stress is to take it one day at a time and plan it out.  Here are some tips when it comes to finding a great contractor at a great price.    

                Tip #1 – Ask to have everything in writing

This helps to alleviate anything that would have a discrepancy.  Having a verbal agreement is good, however to have it written down is even better.

               Tip #2 – Check the company’s current license standing

Contractors who normally do home improvement have to have their license visible to the public.  Make a check through the states licensing board to see if its valid and up to date.  If the contractor in question is a bit iffy about showing you the proper licensing documents than buyer beware and are cautious about doing business.   
            
              Tip #3 – Ask to see photographs/written testimonials about past projects

During the initial phone call with the contractor ask him/her to bring photos and any reference letters to see previous evidence work well done.  Or, ask them to point you in the right direction of what the internet might already have available
   Tip #4 – Get contact info for the sales person that made all the promises

See to it that the sales person in whom you’re speaking with at the estimate is going to be out at the project to check up on the progress.  Or, you should know who exactly is going to be charge at the job site so that you have a go to person if anything comes up
.
   Tip #5 – Organize and Plan!

Before have a game plan or list of questions pertaining to the line of work that is going to take place.  This will help draw the foundation for which you and the contractor agree on.   

Monday, March 14, 2011

Good weekend?

Hi all people!  Did you enjoy the weekend.  I know we sure did.  Just wanted to mention a little something, all of our prayers from Rate My Contractor go out to the families who were affected by last Fridays tsunami.  I hope that didn't get to many peoples heads down this weekend.  On a lighter note day light savings has sprung into effect, and so has the longer days which only mean one thing... days will be getting warmer.  Home improvement projects will be in the planning stage, right?  Or should we say Pre-Planning.. ha ha.  Hopefully we're a bit ahead of that.  BTW what is your plans for the summer?  Are you cutting back on your home improvement projects this summer?  OR Will you be doing more because of the great value contractors are providing due to things being a bit slow?  Post your comments and let us know.  Talk to ya soon!

RMC

Friday, March 11, 2011

This is where were at

So, The Team here at RMC has finally got up to speed with all this Social Networking stuff to keep you updated on "whats the happenings" with RMC.  First off we've got the basic facebook page that is relatively straight forward, but we've upgraded a "Welcome" new visitors.  Somebody in the office thought it would be cool to use "Willkommen," which is the German version for welcome, but we said that was to corny. ha ha ; )  The other Social Network RMC has added is yours truly, Twitter.  So, if you can't get on Facebook or are to busy to get on a computer be sure to add us on Twitter to get real time updates to your phone.  We've added a few post to Twitter and their are more to be added on a daily basis's.  Our graphic design team has done an excellent jot at coordinating the RMC colors with blogger and Twitter.  Thanks guys : )  We will also be adding fresh content as we receive it.  Over and Out.

RMC TEAM 

P.S. any suggestions, send them our way in the form of a comment.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Get the Scoop

Last weekend Rate My Contractor was at the Sacramento Home and Garden show.  There were tons of people at the event and lots of good food too.  Everyone seemed to have a fantastic time.  Unfortunately it rained for most of the weekend but this was a good thing for the show being that it was indoors and something for the family to do.  RMC would like to extend its thanks to all of its early fans coming out and supporting the first exposure event for the company.  There will be pictures coming soon to the Blog.  Our next Home and Garden show is Scheduled for March 25, 26, 27 in Yuba City California.  Come out and see us then.  Don't forget to check back for new pictures. 

RMC TEAM

Welcome

Hello Home Owners and Contractors - 

This is the Rate My Contractor update blog.  This will be an informational BLOG for people to keep up to date with the RMC, as well as, learn about Home and Garden events in your area, Contractors 101, and DIY tips.  The blog will be divided into individual portions which will layout the groundwork for the content.  If you'd like to voice your thoughts or ask a question feel free.  Visit us on our facebook & Twitter fan page to stay connected to live updates and feedback.  

RMC Team