A Good handyman !! “How do I find a good handyman?” That is a question many homeowners have.

Make Stan your handyman.

If you want a good handyman, you want someone you can trust who will return your calls, who will show up when he says he will and you can trust to do a good job.

You want someone who will be honest with you and fix it if it is fixable and tell you if it is not worth fixing and should be replaced and if he is not qualified to do something will refer you to someone who is.

You want someone who is local who you can call on in an emergency and who gives you peace of mind.

You want to talk with the person who is going to do the work, someone who is polite and professional.

You don’t want to be paying top dollar and they send you a $20 handyman.

You want someone who is licensed and insured.

So where do you start, how do you find a good handyman?

Start by talking to your neighbors and friends and then do some research on who they suggest.

Do a Google search for your area …… ” handyman Ancaster”

Do a Bing search for your area……………” handyman Ancaster”

Don’t just click on the ones at the top of the page. Those are paid ads and are there because they are paying the most to be at the top of the page. Very often they do not have very many reviews, scroll down past the ads and click on those ones. They are there because they have more reviews and are found in more places on the internet. They are generally a more established business and will be more easily found if you need them again.

Write down the names of some local handymen that you find. A local handyman has a reputation to maintain and will be more reliable than some out-of-town guy. You also want to establish a relationship with a local handyman that you can call on when you have an emergency. If a Handyman knows you are a regular client he is more likely to try to fit you into his schedule sooner.

Go to Google Maps and search to see if they are local and check their reviews on Google maps.

Search Google and Bing to find out what you can about them. Someone who is serious about having a handyman business should be found in multiple places on the internet. If you can only find him on KIJIJI then it is possible that they are just in it part-time and when they take down the ad you will not be able to find them again.

Check their website

Check their Linkedin profile

Check their Facebook page

Check their Google maps page

Check Yelp listing

Check Yellow pages

Check YouTube

Check Pinterest and any other social media that you use.

There are many people who are seasonal or part-time handymen. They might work in construction and do handyman work in the winter when they are collecting unemployment or they might be teachers and do handyman work in the summer. They might be cheap but they will not be there when you need them again or if you have a problem with their work. Many people complain that they can’t find someone to come to their house but don’t realize that they are calling contractors that are calling themselves handymen. There are many people who want to do larger jobs because they can make more money and only do handyman jobs to fill in between jobs and will not show up if they are doing a bigger job.

Check HomeStars.com and read their reviews

Check TrustedPros.com and read their reviews

HomeStars and TrustedPros are referral sites where contractors pay for leads. If you submit a project there, they will send your project and contact information to three or four contractors. You want the person that you have researched not someone who has paid for your contact information.

If you have done your research well you will have read his reviews, seen his picture, seen pictures of his work and so it will almost feel like you know the person before you pick up the phone.

Now you can make an informed decision about who you want to call.

Remember your home is a major investment and you don’t want to hire the cheapest person that will take forever to get the jobs done and do a poor job and you might not be satisfied with his finished job.

Everyone wants to know how much it will cost but you are looking for a good handyman, not the cheapest handyman. Your first question should not be how much do you charge. That first question gives the
the message that you are price shopping and are looking for someone cheap and you have not done your homework.

The cheapest way to hire a good handyman is to pay by the hour. It takes time to give quotes and time costs money. There is no such thing as a free quote. Eventually, the person who hires him is paying for the time spent driving around giving everybody quotes. If someone is giving you a fixed price they are including enough extra hours to get the jobs done. If you hire the person with the lowest price they have probably underestimated how long it will take or how much the material will cost and will be taking shortcuts or will be going to charge you extra when they run out of time. A typical handyman who only does small jobs is doing well if he has 20 billable hours a week plus he has all his business expenses. If he is not charging enough he will not be in business for long.

If you have a fixed budget prioritize your list and tell him to do as much as he can for that amount. A good handyman can be trusted to do an honest day’s work and he can come back when you can afford to get more work done. If you are paying by the hour you are not paying for the time he is not working for you and if he runs into unforeseen problems they can be discussed and a decision can be reached about how to handle it. If you have other jobs you want doing you just add them to the list and he does them.

Send the handyman a list of the jobs and pictures so that he can come with the material necessary or supply the material for him. Shopping takes time so he will either mark up the material or charge you for the time shopping. Discuss with your handyman how he charges for the material. The reason people mark up material costs 30% to 50% is to cover warranty costs or time wasted with defective parts. If you supply the part then take it out of the box and make sure it is not defective. If he supplies the part and marks up the part then you should not have to pay for his time to go back to the store.

I do not mark up my material cost. I am simply doing the shopping for you. I charge for my shopping time.  If a part is defective then you are paying for my time to go back to the store. I have had clients have me go to the store with them.

If you need advice on the best way to do a job you can talk to me and I will give you honest advice. I like fixing things and don’t believe in trying to upsell you on a bigger job than is necessary. I have people waiting for me to come and do jobs for them.

I hope you find this helpful. If you have any questions give me a call, Stan McCall The Ancaster Handyman. 905 818 1162