Renovation and remodeling contractors are notorious for being bad business managers. Many contractors are skilled at building kitchens, bathrooms, room additions, painting, patios, etc, however, they are horrible at managing cash flow. When a contractor runs out of money when performing work on your project, your life can become a miserable Hell.

Bad Money Barry is a skilled contractor but also a bad money manager. When Barry is short on cash, he will use tricks such as unwarranted change orders to pad his pocket with extra cash.

Learn how to combat Bad Money Barry and avoid going over your project budget and experiencing project failure.

Renovation and remodeling can become confusing, chaotic, and expensive fast. One of the main reasons this fact rings true is because the contractor can contribute to unnecessary expensive changes that lead to budget-busting cost overruns.

Better Way Barney is the guy or gal on the contractor's staff who is the self-designated expert who loves to stray away from the project plan by doing the construction project better than outlined on the plan. Of course, these improvements come at a cost to your pockets. Additionally, some of these suggested changes disturb other areas of your project thus causing more project budget destruction.

Learn how to combat Better Way Barney and avoid going over your project budget and experiencing project failure.

Renovation and remodeling contractors use ambiguity as a tool to increase their profits by using cheap materials. When the homeowner discovers that cheap materials are being used, the contractor charges the homeowner higher than normal fees to use long-lasting, high-grade materials. In some cases, your project budget could double or triple. Many homeowners don't specify the materials to be used on their project and create "grey areas" of interpretation for the contractor to decide which materials are best for the best. This is a bad idea. This is where Ambiguous Andy comes in a robs your bank account by up charging you for the material upgrade.

Learn how to combat Ambiguous Andy and avoid project failure.

Time is a critical component of any renovation or remodeling project. It's so important, it one of the key components of the Golden Triangle in construction, Scope, Time, Cost. Greedy contractors will often experience self-caused time delays and use "creative imagination" to make their delays your cost. The contractor will blame the homeowner or property owner for stalling the project by causing obstructions to the job site via physical obstacles or access issues. Additionally, obscure and ambiguous phases in the proposal or contract can make you liable for any delay which adds to the destruction of your project budget.

Learn how to combat Stall Em Steve and avoid project failure.

To get awarded a construction contract, contractors will use confidence as a tactic to trick the property owner into becoming the contractor of choice. The contractor will continually tell you "no problem" when it comes to overcoming any project challenges and performing the renovation or remodeling work. You've been introduced to "No Problem Paul." Paul tells you everything you want to hear and gives you a great price. Unfortunately, Paul overpromises and underdelivers which eventually causes you aggravation, time, and money.

Learn how to combat No Problem Paul and avoid project failure.

When contractors have a lot of customers and a backlog of construction projects, finding skilled people to perform the work can be a challenge. Contractors are faced with the reality of having to hire people who may not be the most qualified. These unqualified people are known as the C crew. The C crew is not as efficient as the A or B crew and is often a lot slower and less profitable for the construction company. The C crew is known as Slow-Mo Stanley. Unfortunately, the renovation or remodeling contractor will try to make you (the homeowner) pay more money for your project to compensate for Slow-Mo Stanley's work habits and lack of skill. Learn how to combat Slow-Mo Stanley and keep this unskilled contractor's employee from draining your bank account.  

The free estimate can cost you thousands if you're not careful. Contractors use an estimator to arrive at the cost to construct your renovation or remodeling project. Unfortunately, the actual site conditions may not be in alignment with the estimator's cost expectations. When the construction crew starts construction Disaster Dave will work in tandem with Edward the Estimator to justify extra costs (change orders) to exploit your bank account. Learn the tactics and strategies to combat this dubious practice and prevent your project from becoming a financial hell.

Contractors are always trying to make an extra buck. Sometimes the extra money contractors earn through change orders is well deserved however, many times the extra charges are theft. Contractors will use any means to convince the homeowner or property owner that the change orders are legitimate. One of the tools that contractors use is an employee named "Not in Quote Quincy." Quincy will attempt to use the estimate/proposal as the means to negotiate change orders even if a contract agreement exists outside of the initial proposal. Learn how to combat Not in Quote Quincy and save thousands on your renovation or remodeling project.