| Don't be 'took' for a crook By Jennifer Roush Times West Virginian June 24, 2007 FAIRMONT — In the prime of the summer home-improvement season, many of you may be considering painting your house, adding new windows or paving the driveway. If the whole idea of finding the right person for the job scares you, you are not alone. But be encouraged because there are things you can do to keep from getting taken by crooks. Founder Rick Quinn designed the Home Improvement Network, which launched in May, as a resource for consumers to find reputable area contractors. He has been in and around the home-improvement industry for eight years. “Right now, about once a day, I get a call from a homeowner who’s been taken advantage of — usually large sums of money, project not completed, didn’t do a good job, running with the money,” he said, “giving the whole home-improvement industry a bad name. I wanted to give homeowners a place where they could go to find companies and contractors they could trust to call them back, come out and give estimates, give them a fair price, etc.” Quinn said the most common experience homeowners have is frustration. “How it worked is if you needed something done, you go to the phone book,” he said. “There’s a ton (listed). That’s where the nightmare begins. You start calling and calling. Most aren’t going to call back and give estimates. Everybody who owns a home knows there’s frustration from the very beginning, in most cases. ... “The home-improvement industry is the biggest industry out there in most money spent, and so many people are getting taken advantage of. In most cases, their hard-earned savings. They put down money to put a roof on their house, and the contractor jumps town. And then you can’t afford to put a roof on your house. “One quote’s $100 and one would quote $1,000. It puts so many questions in a consumer’s head of where the differences are. I’ve seen it all. People lie about products they’re using and warranties — if they are not licensed and insured. And they are working off a cell phone. Good luck finding them.” What Quinn does with the network is essentially seek and interview companies and contractors to ensure they do good business, are properly licensed and have adequate general liability. “By utilizing people who do good business, you don’t have to worry about the work not being done to code and to specification, and you don’t have to worry about repairing the project in a few years because it’s going to be done right the first time,” he said. “So many people (contractors), they want in and out, and want their money. Not our members. They want it to be right.” The Home Improvement Network is currently fully launched in Harrison County and is set to launch in Marion County next month. The network operates primarily from its Web site: TheHomeImprovementNetwork.org. It is a free service for homeowners. Members have a monthly fee of $100. The members, 22 total with 10-15 pending, meet monthly, receive a monthly member directory and have their own Web page on the site. They also have a survey program to monitor their members’ performance. Potential members are interviewed in person by Quinn to make sure they meet the requirements to be in the network. You can also contact Quinn to find out if someone is licensed, etc. Mary Wayland owns three homes located in Clarksburg, Elkins and Alexandria, Va. She is retired and living in Alexandria. She recently dealt with an area contractor she calls “the crook.” Her home in Clarksburg needs a lot of work done — painting inside and out and new windows to name a few. She found a contractor in the phone book who was eager to get started on doing a number of projects. The first minor payout she made was to get her yard cleaned up. He took her money, but he didn’t do the job. Wayland called the state to find out if he had a license. Officials said he didn’t and to “watch out” for him. She got the number for the Home Improvement Network from the City of Clarksburg. The contractors recommended gave her some wise advice. Wayland’s estimates were $25,000, but they advised her to see how much her house would sell after the repairs, which turned out to be about $45,000. The “crook” said about $65,000. So the network’s contractors saved her a lot of headaches. “I was told I would get over $40,000 to $45,000 if I put the $25,000 in it,” she said. “(But I found out I) can get $20,000 without doing anything.” About five years ago, Joan Wandell of Clarksburg had a floor installed and said it was “terrible.” “They didn’t level it, and the floor is breaking up,” she said. “And it’s just worthless. I put a lot of money into it, and it’s worthless. Wandell lives alone and said many people will take advantage of women. “I’ve had people do work who were not licensed,” she said. “They did shoddy work, and I had no recourse. They were not licensed, and I didn’t know that.” The first time she contacted Quinn was when she was looking for a roofer. “I just had a roof put on by someone in the network, and they did a great job at a reasonable price. And they knew what they were doing,” Wandell said. “Before Home Improvement Network, it was just hit and miss. But with Home Improvement, Rick Quinn has checked these people out and knows they’re licensed and reputable. It makes me feel comfortable.” One of the network’s current Marion County members is Royal Glass. Michael Mazelon, owner of Royal Glass full service glass shop in Fairmont, said he likes being associated with a this network. “I think this gives people a sense of comfort that these companies have been prequalified as companies that are reputable,” he said. “That have a reputation of doing good work. I want to be known as that company. We want to strive to be that kind of company.” Quinn is passionate about his vision to improve people’s perceptions of contractors. “I can’t change the world, but I want to change Harrison, Marion and Monongalia counties, where people don’t have to get taken advantage of by the home improvement industry,” he said. If you want to contact the network, you can visit TheHomeImprovementNetwork.org. E-mail Jennifer Roush at jroush@timeswv.com. |
