Prepare Your House For Sale

Don’t Get Scammed

This article is in a on going series under “Save Money On Your House”  on my site “Houses To Go”.   I will jump right in here,  I was having a conversation with one of my clients, when she asked if we were bonded or not?   People see this in the telephone book all the time in ads.  These ads are just another advertising tactic by usually large contractors with big advertising budgets.   You don’t have to be bonded to show you are a quality and honest company.  Now,  I am sure all the companies selling these bond / insurance policies will have something different to say.  Many years back when people would give full payment down for materials and labor, back in the day where there were more honest then dishonest contractors a few would run off with their customers money.  These people then had to track these companies and sue to get any money back and have them arrested.  The advent of a company being bonded for construction work was invented to give the consumer piece of mind and put more money into a bonds companies pockets for premiums.  Let’s be honest,  who do you really think is paying the premium on the bond, that’s right you.

The bonds cover things like bond for work completion,  in other words your contractor runs off half way through the job.  Again, many years back people paid in full then lost that money and then had to hire someone else.  Now days  most people only put 25-33% down and then more as the work is completed.  Hence you can see no reason if you do it this way to have someone who is bonded.   You never gave them your money so you still have it!  You would still have to find another contractor to finish your work anyway.  The bond company gives you the remaining money to complete the work, they don’t find you another contractor who won’t scam you.   So,  you can see how some one saying they are bonded is just a “warm fuzzy advertising tactic now days”  the only ones who still demand being bonded is government contracts and that everyone can see makes all the difference when we are paying $500 dollars from a shady contractor, for one toilet seat.  Well,  being bonded really made all the difference here,  NOT!

Now, the next type of bonding is for performance.  example,  shady window contractor sells you services to reduce your old window drafts,  shows up with a caulk gun and a tube of caulk and charges $15,000 and tells you that you have new windows now.   The bond is then paid out to have you find a real contractor and have real windows put in.  Here again,  only put down 33%  and then only pay at the end if you got the real replacement windows you thought installed.  Here again,  no reason to be bonded,  just use common sense.   You need to take the time to look into who you are using for your home improvement work.  I have seen people ask,  are you bonded and insured?  Reply by shady contractor is not going to be “why no, I am here to just take your money and run”.  They are going to say yes,  problem here is most people just say “ok” and never look into anyway.  The ads in the phone book can say anything the person wants it to say,  they can say their bonded and insured for 400 hundred billion dollars,  if no one checks it don’t make a difference.  Hence, it is more of a advertising tool then anything else.  

People need to use contractors that they have heard of through others and see their work.   I had a person once even say “I am going with you, because I was standing in your work”.  This person used a bathroom at a friends house that we had remodeled for them.  She was going with us because she talked too and had seen our completed work which was of the highest quality, we did not tell her this, she saw it with her own eyes.  The large contractors out there always have in their ads that they are bonded,  you see when they bid on government work,  remember they have to be anyway.   The smaller high quality contractors have their prices set so low already buying bond would cost them more money then what it is worth.  Remember,  the big contractor sales people don’t tell you that you are paying for their high priced bonding and insurance, fancy ads on TV, radio and news paper.  Think about who is here?  That’s right you again. 

People just need to use their heads when picking people to do work on their homes.  The guy with the big fancy ads and trucks is not always the best.  People just don’t seem to get this one at all.  No,  I am not saying the guy in the 1975 rust bucket truck is the answer either.  Many large contractors spend thousands and some even millions on advertising in a effort to win people over.  Remember,  the bigger they are,  the larger crews they need.  You may ask yourself so?   Big crews normally equals high turn over and unknown back grounds on many of their employees.  Remember people,  your never going to see their work crew until they are working on your house.   In the home improvement arena many people are not Harvard and Yale graduates here, your lucky if the work crew even went to college at all.   I have heard of roofing and other crew jobs especially landscaping companies using all illegal crews and you don’t want to know where they find these people and their back grounds.  I have even had our customers say that they were afraid to let some of these contractor crews in their house.   So,  bigger is definitely not always better in this case.   You have areas where you need to be more careful then others.  I have seen many roofing guys call themselves a roofing contractor because they have a truck and roofing gun.  These guys even scare me.  The higher end trades, plumbers, electricians, home inspectors all have to be certified or hold a license.  When these guys try to scam someone they know their credential’s and living is on the line.  Again, remember anyone can say they are certified, if you think they are not, just go on line, state sites list people who have been state certified or may be decertified.   

There currently are not any certification or licenses for home improvement/handy man companies in many areas.  Show me the last certified or licensed painter or landscape company you have seen or used.  There are people out there that are over kill and end up paying way more for services,  example, the person who wants a bonded, insured, licensed, certified electrician to come in an change a light bulb or light switch in their house.  Sure, the electrician will provide theses services  at $65-$150 per hour with a automatic trip minimum most of the time equal to one hour of time.  The old saying a fool and his money are soon parted.  Now, if you are replacing or updating your electrical services to 100 or 200 amp service,  yeah,  you should be looking for a good electrical contractor.   There is a time and place for everything.

I have for many years provided and performed many repairs and improvements so yes, I understand not all people know a wrench from skill saw.  Hence, why I also get hired just to consult for people and let them know what they need done.  I save people thousands this way, they already know what they need before the contractors line up ten deep at their door steps.  I also keep a small secured network of trusted individuals that have provided high quality work for reasonable prices.  When I look for contractors, I first ask around my network of trades people I use.  Now,  it’s my business to have this network of people at my disposal, but you also can check around by asking friends and family.  Also, remember these so called screening companies you see online all the time,  the contractors they use have to pay them to get them to use them.  Sure sounds like a conflict of interest to me.  Now, free sites or forums run just to help out, thats different.  You have to be careful that someone on the forum is not just a shady contractor posing as a home owner.  You still  have to use common sense.  I would not use those screening companies just has to be a conflict of interest,  if a contractor pays money to the screening company to get customers,  come on people, that should be red flags to all.  A small contractor or consultant on the other hand will only use the best people as their business depends on it,  not a paid subscriber based fees by thousands of contractors.   

Well, it’s hard to write these articles, because I never know if people have followed the series of articles.  So, I have to repeat information to ensure that people still get the message.   As I have stated before, my sites are free, so you get information that in-person people have had to pay for, obviously their information is more detailed to their exact needs.  These articles have to cover a large general area. 

Have a home question, just ask.

Remember Safety first.

Cost Of A New Seeded Lawn

I  know it is now time to put the lawn mower away a break out the snow blowers in the Great Midwest.  I cannot help myself as I cannot believe how many people have not heard of a lawn installation process called hydro-seeding in the great state of Wisconsin.   I know we run behind the times on fashion and other new things,  but we really need to start thinking here people.  People are still using a caveman way of throwing grass seed in the air and covering it with straw,  you see it all the time here.  I know its heard to believe.  Then even using granular fertilizers that can run off and cause harm to other areas.  The really bad stuff is rolled out straw blankets.  These blankets are held together by a plastic mesh which animals can become entangled in and die.  Not to mention we are covering the earths soil with a plastic compound that will never never dissolve.   I see it here in Wisconsin all the time,  is no one concerned about our wild life and environment.

The real kicker is there is a process called hydro-seeding that is 100 times better than the straw/seed and the grass / straw process uses unsafe granular fertilizers of the past.   The hydro-seeding lawn installation process gives you a new sod quality lawn in 4 weeks and costs half the price.  Did you get that?  Sod quality like lawn in 4 weeks.  The best part no animals dying in plastic nets or old granular fertilizers in our hydro-seeding process.   I could install lawns and erosion barriers with seed and plastic netting all day and make tons of money; but I won’t.  The hydro-seeding process saves our environment and wildlife.  That’s enough reason right there.  You want more of a reason,  that even some builders don’t know?  It is more economical to hydro-seed then use the roll out plastic/straw blankets.   That’s right even builders are not aware of the advantages of hydro-seeding.  You see most of them have set up deals with landscapers who don’t use hydro-seeding machines because it would cost them to much.  You see the machines are costly at first, but really pay for themselves in the end.

Their is another very sad factor of this whole thing,  it is illegal help in our great country that is one of the causes for all this damage.  The landscape companies take advantage of these poor people by paying them very low wages and getting away with it as these people are not even suppose to be here as they are illegal.  So,  instead of buying the hydro-seeding machines, they exploit these poor people for their own huge money gains.   The landscapers using illegal help don’t want to tell the builders they work with, that hydro-seeding is better and safer as it was cost them more money.  The builders on the other hand would get a much better lawn at cheaper rate which is safe for all.   You maybe asking your self how is it cheaper?  You see the landscaper company owner still charges a premium rate for a low quality product.  So, the only one who sees the benefits is the landscape company owner.   There are many builders that just think it is the cheapest route to get their lawns and erosion barriers put in.  Builders making millions and millions and they don’t even know.  So,  without general home owner being told about hydro-seeding and all of its benefits,  how would they know?

There are some high quality builders that know about it and just automatically figure since it is new and high tech that it is expensive, but it is not at all.   The people in the southern parts of the country have been using hydro-seeding for many years already.  The builders here may have also run into high priced hydro-seeders when it first arrived here and just said it’s to expensive.  This is not the case anymore if they would just take 1 second and read a letter or take a phone call from a quality hydro-seeding company representative they would see that hydro-seeding is far better for new lawns and erosion control.   The new home owner  would be the other one to benefit highly from hydro-seeding.  Besides a hydroseeded lawn being very economical for a home owner to put in, it is also less expensive to get and keep a great looking lawn.   The straw/seed landscapers don’t want you to know,  it costs more in fertilizer and still grows 50% weeds and then you finally get 50% grass.  A straw/seed lawn takes 2 years to grow in.  hydro-seeded lawns take 4 weeks!  You do the math on materials and time spent.   It is really obvious that hydro-seeding is by far the most economical and best product.

The International Association of Hydroseeding Professionals maintains a list of professional hydro-seeders for the whole country (www.hydroseeding.org.)  It is a great source to help find out about hydro-seeding and professional,  look for the contractors that have the I.A.H.P. symbol by their company name as these are members the others are just known contractors in that area,  stick with the members.  The Wisconsin listings has members right at the top of their list of contractors.  Many contractors can have large areas that they will service,  so just call and ask. 

I really wish some people who would be interested in helping the environment would help spread the word about hydro-seeding.  If you want more info, please leave a comment or e-mail and we can talk about hydro-seeding and it’s benefits to all.  People building a house need to ask their builder if they know of a quality hydro-seeder in the area.  If they don’t just check the site above.  I don’t like to give free advertising to a site, but I feel it is a worthy cause.  I even encourage all builders to look into and just because one hydro-seeder is a little high, does not mean all are.  I have heard of hydro-seeders going as low as 6.5 cents per square foot for large builders.   Think of what you can buy for 6.5 cents.   This shows you how cost effective hydro-seeding.  Most home owners are looking at about 8-16 cents depending on what part of the country you live.

I will try to help spread the word, but I cannot do it alone.  I could use any help I could get.

Remember Always Safety First.

The New Lawn Game

The new lawn game.  The great lakes area is the area where no one seems to know how much money they can save by putting their new lawn in via hydro-seeding.  So much so, the landscapers in the area don’t even know about hydro-seeding.  They still do it the cave man way via straw/seed.  Yes, very hard to believe.  People even insist in some cases that the straw/seed way be used or nothing.   This is like someone stating they will only use a corded phone in their house that is screwed into wall and use a cell phone, well you get the idea.  The state of Wisconsin is really hit hard in this area.   Very few if any know what hydro-seeding is or that it exists at all.  Even the builders use straw and seed and don’t really know what hydro-seeding is.  The high end builders who keep up with the standards and look to give their customers a premium lawn know what hydro-seeding is.  The rest that don’t care about their customers or who just look to save a buck use the straw/seed method and again many don’t even know about hydro-seeding, building the home is their part not the lawn.

The real kicker is hydro-seeded lawns far out perform a straw/seed lawn.   The real deal is that even with hydro-seeding being so much better people don’t know about it and even pay more for a lesser quality product.  Even the builders are paying more for lesser quality lawns and don’t even know it.  You would think a builder would keep up on these types of things.  Some even get letters from hydro-seeding companies and their secretaries just throw them away not even realizing they could save the company alot of money and get a high quality product.  See,  they just keep using the same guy over and over not knowing any better.  Again their are some quality builders that do get the value and high quality value of a hydro-seeded lawn on their construction site.   What is really shocking is the commercial construction companies are paying these straw/seed guys way more and getting a lesser product by far.  Hydro-seeding is one of the best erosion barriers that is safe for the environment also.  That’s right go green with green.  The commercial sites have been using a seed/straw blankets for grass and erosion control.  I don’t know why no one has said anything about the plastic netting that never dissolves is being allowed to be used at all.  Wild life can become stuck in the netting and it never will  dissolve and it is covering large amounts the earths dirt surface.  We have learned how bad plastics are for our environment and still it is being used even encouraged in some cases to cover our soil or ground surfaces with it.

Their are new EPA laws in some areas that mandate run off or water retention ponds be built by builders.  When they build these ponds the sides need to have a ground erosion barriers applied, grass.  But they use these straw blankets with the plastic netting inside to hold the seed and straw in place.  Creating huge land masses covered in plastic netting.  These ponds weree built to help the environment and water run off systems in our communities and now some one has found a new way to make a buck and destroy out environment out of what was meant to save it.   The local agencies are telling the builders they have to put down a erosion barrier so they hire what they think is the cheapest lawn  or erosion barrier installation company.  Little do most of them know,  they could spend less money and still help the environment if they would just hydro-seed instead of straw/seed applications.  That’s right costs a builder less money and still be good for all.  Remember,  the whole letter and secretary garbage thing?  Hydro-seeding is so new in the Midwest areas they just throw it out and it never reaches the building companies management to even see the huge cost savings they would get by hydro-seeding, not to mention saving the earth.

There are a few quality builders that know about hydro-seeding.  The problem is most don’t and some when they look into it, ask the guy who is currently doing their lawns and barriers, well that guy is clueless and he knows he would not get his big bucks for his straw/seed application with the plastic netting inside.   So, its not to say that they are not a quality home builder they just don’t know.  The general public needs to be informed about hydro-seeding and all the cost savings and how it is green to all.   The hydro-seeded lawn is so cost effective especially for new construction home owners and builders.    The Midwest is growing colder this time of year and grass is not a big deal,  what is a big deal is our environment and saving it.    Educating people about hydro-seeding and saving the environment is a everyday and season job.   The sad part is, hydro-seeding is cheaper than the seed/straw blanket barriers and still people go with the lower quality and higher price of the straw blanket with the plastic in it.  I could understand a builder saying that it costs them so much more to hydro-seed,  but it does not and is cheaper material cost wise.   We can only hope the high quality builders tell other builders that hydro-seeding is more cost effective than straw and seed, not to mention a far higher quality product.  Hopefully the builders in Wisconsin will start talking to each other more to find out how much time and money hydro-seeding would save them and their customers.  

The applications for hydro-seeding don’t stop at nice green lawns.  There are wild flower seed blends that can be sprayed and erosion sprays also.  The benefits of hydro-seeding just go on and on.  You can even spray prairie grass for pastures that have been used for farm animals.  

Please feel free to ask about hydro-seeding a lawn and all of its cost savings and benefits.   I encourage all new construction home owners and builders please inquire about pricing and quality of hydro-seeded lawns and erosion barriers.  Ask your builder for a local company who hydro-seeds or if they don’t know just do a search on line for hydro-seeding contractors in your area.  To give it more credibility there is the International Association Of Hydroseeding professionals which can help you find a quality hydro-seeding company in your area. 

Remember safety always first.