Almost every remodeling horror story we hear from new clients in Morris County could have been avoided with a few questions before signing. Here are the ones we'd ask if we were hiring someone to work on our own homes.
One: Is the business registered, and will you pull permits? A registered New Jersey business with a real address and a phone that gets answered is the baseline. Any contractor who suggests skipping the permit to save time is telling you how they'll handle the rest of the job.
Two: Who will actually be on site? Ask whether the person you're meeting will be there during the work or whether it gets handed to a crew you haven't met. Three: Can I get an itemized written estimate? A lump sum hides where the money goes and makes changes impossible to price fairly.
Four: What's the schedule, and when is the final payment due? A real contractor gives you a start date and a target finish, and the last invoice comes after a walkthrough, not before. Five: What happens if something is wrong after you leave? You want a straight answer and a phone number, not a shrug. Six: Can I see recent work nearby? Photos are good; a finished kitchen in the next town over is better.