Done a refurb? Had a repair? Extended or converted a property? If yes, then chances are, you like me, will have probably followed one of these courses of action at some point: 'phone a friend', 'Googled it' or thumbed through Yellow Pages. There are other ways though...
Probably the best way to find a good trades-person is to go with a recommendation from someone that we trust who has worked with the trader before.
If we use a letting agent, then they may have their own 'panel' of tradespeople to call upon for any given situation. Beware though, as some agents charge (either directly or indirectly) a mark-up on top of the trader's invoice and the 'health warning' about making sure they are suitably qualified and accredited still applies, even with their referral.
In the absence of either of these options, another route could be to put a request out on one of the property-based forums such as the larger Facebook groups, or the more specialist landlord / investor sites like Property Tribes, Landlord 118 or The Property Hub. Whilst this sort of approach should generate some recommendations, it still does not guarantee that what we will get is the genuine article...i.e. a fully qualified and competent trades-person.
That is why I quite like the sound of some of the 'rated' trader sites mentioned in this feature article today. Whether it be a subscription-based service such as the one from Which?, or a free database look-up system based on completed jobs such, as RatedPeople.com and Trustatrader.com, the idea of following reviews and ratings by former satisfied customers has to be a good alternative.
I have used a number of sites with supplier rating systems before, most notably and successfully eBay of course, but equally some to access tradespeople and the idea of being rated by the 'crowd' appeals to me. For example, I used such a site when a tenant reported a blocked drain recently...funny enough I ended up using the local water company, who said they would not charge a call out if the problem was on their side of the drain rather than mine...which in the end it wasn't, which also made the call out free!
The point about checking up a trader's credentials is a good one and the links to the TrustMark, Gas Safe & competentperson.co.uk sites allow us to undertake such checks before letting them through the door.
Finally, even with a recommendation things can still go wrong with any working arrangement - be that a simple misunderstanding through to incompetence, wilful neglect or even down right fraud. In which case, having things confirmed in writing, even if it is an exchange of e-mails could help to clarify and secure our position should we have to try to remedy problems later on.
This article might just be worth saving or bookmarking for future reference for the next time we need to find a decent, qualified trader.
Source & credits: The Guardian