How to Assemble a Home Renovation Dream Team for Your Pre-Sale Projects

Specialty tradesman

When you need a niche job done correctly, you’re going to want to hire someone who is trained and experienced in that specific skill. Painters, plumbers, electricians, roofers, and window hangers are all examples of trade professionals you might call upon to work their magic during a home renovation.

These professionals might cost a little bit more cash upfront, but their services are worth the investment. Sure, you could hire one of your buddies to climb a ladder with a pocketful of shingles, and there’s no doubt it would cost less at the time.

However, when that roof starts to leak because it was built by an amateur, the cost can begin to mount quickly. The average cost of a roof repair is $650 to $850 per call, and that’s not even factoring in the water or structural damage that a leaky roof can cause (which can come back to haunt you the next time your home is appraised).

Your contractor should be able to steer you in the right direction to find the best-skilled trade workers in your area. Otherwise, steer clear of customer reviews on sites like Yelp or Facebook, and opt to chat with other professionals who have worked with them instead.

Public reviews tend to be biased (both positively and negatively), and talking with someone who can vouch for their work as a professional can give you a much more accurate idea of who to hire to take on your home renovation.

Handyman

A handyman is the jack-of-all-trades that many homeowners call for small repairs and easy renovations. What a handyman lacks in niche skill, he makes up for in the wide range of issues he can competently take on. A handyman is the person to call when you need your light fixtures replaced, your gutters cleaned, or a leaky shower head repaired.

A good handyman will be able to refer you to a skilled professional to tackle any problems that are outside of his range. When hiring a handyman, ask prospective candidates for a list of references and take the time to make some phone calls.

A great handyman is one that you’ll want to keep on call after your renovations are finished, so it’s definitely worthwhile to make sure you’re hiring the very best.

Carpenter

If something needs to be built, a carpenter is the crew member for the job. Stairs, railings, cabinets, and house framework are all tasks that your carpenter should be adept at handling.

The carpenter you hire for your home renovation should ideally have:

• Mechanical skills (with tools and equipment)
• Critical thinking skills
• Mathematical ability
• Spatial awareness
• Communication skills

It’s also vitally important for your carpenter to pay meticulous attention to every detail and have a strong knowledge of building codes. When the structure of your home is at stake, even a miscalculation of just millimeters can cause major issues down the road.

Interior designer

Your interior designer is hired to work within your budget and preferences to make sure that your home’s aesthetic and structure flows as coherently as possible. They have the instincts and experience to know what works and what doesn’t, which becomes especially important when it comes time to stage your home for an upcoming sale.

Some important skills your interior designer should bring to the table include:

• A great eye for color and space
• Knowledge of what looks can increase a home’s value
• Awareness of what’s trendy and what will make your home look dated
• Great communication skills
• Creativity and artistic vision

A good interior designer will have a portfolio and references for you to check out prior to hiring, so don’t be afraid to ask.

Professional remodeler

Not to be confused with a general contractor, a professional remodeler creates a large scale vision for your renovations. These professionals are typically hired for major projects; if you’re redoing your bathroom, you probably don’t need a remodeling expert.

However, if you’re gutting a large part of your home, including significant structural changes, you may want to enlist the expertise of a professional remodeler.

Here are some important things to look for when you’re in the market for one of these remodeling pros:

• Great relationships with other industry professionals
• Ability to lift and bend
• Verbal communication skills
• Some handyman skills (or working knowledge of what goes into them)

Landscaper

When it comes to creating great curb appeal, a good landscaper is second to none. The outside of your home factors into the home appraisal and your house’s overall appeal in a big way, and digging up any part of your yard without the expertise of a professional is risky at best.

A landscaping team can design and create a beautiful exterior for your property, as well as handle any land alterations that might be needed for a home remodel.

When you’re hiring a landscaper, be sure to hire someone with:

• Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) certification
• Great references from respected, non-biased sources
• A solid portfolio that showcases multiple examples of the aesthetic you’re looking for
• Experience that reflects an ability to meet your needs (for example, look for landscapers who have worked on properties and projects that are similar to yours)

Putting your house on the market? Add a real estate agent to your bench.

Nobody knows the ins and outs of the housing market in your area like a local real estate agent. They’ll have a better sense of what features and amenities are popular in the other homes in your neighborhood, so they won’t recommend investing in renovations that won’t ultimately put money back in your pocket when the time comes to sell.

Connect with a top-selling agent in your area and ask them to perform a walkthrough of your home to figure out which renovations will be worth doing before putting your home on the market.

After the work is done, you’ll have an agent on call who is already familiar with your property and priorities.

How to make sure you’re hiring the best crew for your home renovation

With so many potential candidates to hire in your home renovation team, you’ll need to know how to weed out crew members who won’t be a good fit.

Here are the steps you’ll need to take to figure out which renovation professionals in your area will be the best men and women for the job.

1. Start with a master list of candidates

Start your search by gathering a list of potential team members. If you’re undertaking a major project, that should start with a general contractor.

Referrals from trusted friends and family can be a great place to start. You’ll have a real-life connection to candidates’ past work so you can see for yourself whether their skill and style will be a good fit.

Once you’ve picked the brains of people you know, you can move on to the resources available on the web. Sites like Angi, which has provided millions of homeowners with peer reviews and local service connections since 1995, and even local classifieds can be valuable sources of information.

2. Start making phone calls

Once you’ve narrowed a list down to your top candidates, it’s time to pick up the phone. Narrow down your candidates by giving them a call and asking these questions, shared with us by Todd Miller, president of Isaiah Industries, a roofing solutions company founded in 1980: