I dunno, if a contractor is doing work in the neighborhood/neighbors home - it would be a mistake not to do two things:
1) if it’s an immediate neighbor, to introduce yourself and let them know that there is going to be construction done next door. This way the contractor can introduce himself, be courteous about informing the neighbor of the noise, and at the least leave a business card. Also, a quick glance at the roof, siding, gutters, etc - if there is an issue the contractor can offer to setup a time to leave a quote.
2) if it’s in the neighborhood - it would make sense to drive around the block and see if you can spot homes with issues. Again, the contractor informs the homeowner that they’re doing work down the block. That the contractor was driving by, and for example saw some shingles missing on the roof, and figured why not introduce himself and leave a business card if they would like to setup a time for a quote.
What should be a huge RED FLAG - if the contractor is pushy, saying he has left over materials and is willing to give a discount, asking for the full payment before the work is finished. (Some money upfront for mobilization costs would be ok. But, there needs to be a schedule of values/milestones at which additional payment would be due (this part only pertains to work that would take some time).
Having a contractor knock on the door and say they’re doing work for Mr and Mrs Smith down the road is ok. Just for an introduction, leaving a business card, and if any issues arise to give the contractor a call.
AGAIN, if they pull some bullshit like oh we have extra supplies and need to get rid of them, being pushy on immediately starting the work (remember kids, time kills all deals), and asking for full payment before the work is 100% complete is a RED FLAG/Scam.
Yes, cash is king. Discounts can be offered on cash payments. But, there still needs to be a contract, the contractor being licensed, bonded, and insured is a must have. Otherwise you might be hiring a handyman and not a contractor.
If this happens to one of you, do your due diligence before making a commitment. Ask about referrals, book of business where they can show you precious work, etc.
Scam artist thrive on a persons greed, and the building of urgency. “Oh hey Mr Customer, normally to do this job would be $10-$12k. But, because I have these extra materials I can do the work for $4k. We would start today, and finish asap. But, I need to start today/finish today because I can’t go back to the office with these extra materials.” Some bullshit like that.
A lot of contractors work by word of mouth. There are legitimate guys out there. Hell, even a professional handyman can save you money and get the job done according to code without ripping you off.
But, always take these interactions with a grain of salt.
i.e - oh you do roofing? Great, what’s your license number? Where is your main office? Do you have references? Can you show me Prev work that you’ve done? Oh, you’re doing work for Mr & Mrs Smith? Let’s take a walk over so I can take a look at what you’re doing. Are you GAF certified? Are your employees doing the work, or are you subcontracting this out to another company? Oh, you’re subcontracting? Please give the license number, and info on the sub.
Also, keep in mind - even legitimate contractors can be scumbags. There are a lot of data aggregators out there. These contractors look at homes that were just sold, they look at who bought these homes, they look at how old the home owners are (older home owners are from a different era, and are more likely to invite someone over to take a look at whatever issue they’re experiencing- just from a phone call. Older home owners are also more likely to agree to pay for work with just a handshake deal, without a contract)
I’ve also met owners of companies who do lawn treatment/pest control. I was shocked at how much money they make - and started asking question on how they get their leads.
What they do, is buy the same lists from data aggregators. Find out the contact info for the new home owners, and send them a high bill - with a letter saying the tech will be coming out next week to service the property.
What happens, most of the time the new home owner calls the company and asks who this company is? That they don’t want service, didn’t request it, etc.
The company tells them that they have been servicing the property for many years. They drop the name of the previous home owner, to make them seem legitimate. (Meanwhile, the company has never actually serviced the property.) Then, what happens is the home owner becomes willing to set an appointment with a salesman. The homeowners logic is, if the property needs these services, they might as well continue.
The salesman shows up, lowers the price because this is a new home owner, but still up sells additional services.
This particular company would actually come out and spray water when they ran out their “organic product”. Obviously, this doesn’t always happen - but I know they had two month of no actually insecticide.
Sometimes, if the new home owner doesn’t reply to the upcoming service letter/bill, the company will just send a tech out and do the work. Then leave an invoice in the mailbox.
In a that situation - the homeowner does one of two things. They pay the invoice and the service continue on a weekly/monthly basis. Or the home owner calls back livid, and refuses to pay this bill. The company proceeds to threaten with legal action. The home owner pays the bill and doesn’t do biz with them again, or they pay the bill and ask a salesman to come out so they can discuss future business/cost of services.
Hands down one of the scummiest companies I’ve ever had the displeasure of interacting with. M
The owners would call the people who haven’t paid bills. Threaten them. Since the company knows the exact address, the owners make up shit like oh, you just moved here - but I grew up here. I know the entire police force in your town, I get them catering once a week, etc. basically that the cops won’t help them.
If that doesn’t work, the owners will actually send some very big dudes to get the money.
They were scumbags who made millions. They changed the name of the company/closed the company & opened a new one every year to escape the negative review or legal blowback.
They’d shoot employees with BB guns or throw hockey pucks and baseballs at employees. Really fucked up shit.
Especially for the fact that they targeted a certain demographic - older folks that were born between 1930 - 1959.
Granted, most of the time they actually did the work.
Just a very scummy approach to doing business.