Registered Builder / Remodeler program protects consumers

By Matt Weafer
For the Messenger-Inquirer Home and Garden Show catalogue.

Whether you are looking to build a new home or renovate your current home, finding a contractor you can trust can be difficult.

But with the Home Builders Association of Owensboro’s Registered Builder / Remodeler program, consumers gain a little independence.

As a free consumer protection program, the Registered Builder / Remodeler program is an organization designed to set professional standards for builders and remodelers so consumers know their contractor can not only complete a job, but has insurance to protect the consumer and the crew and the references to back him up.

“In today’s time, all you have to do is call yourself a builder and the consumer assumes that (you have) experience,” HBAO President-elect Randy Hayden, with Image Builders, said. “That’s simply not the reality.”

“The foremost purpose of Registered Builder / Remodeler is consumer protection,” Mark Schmidt, of Mark Schmidt Remodeling, said. “There’s not police out there policing the industry. (Registered Builder / Remodeler) polices the industry pre-consumer.”

Registered builders and remodelers in the program must meet certain criteria, including workers compensation insurance and liability insurance; the contractor must be in business for at least two years and have completed a certain number of jobs; the contractor must supply references from previous customers and the contractor’s bank; the contractor must also provide a written contract and at least a one-year warranty.

Once the contractor is accepted as a registered builder or remodeler, he must complete at least six hours of continued education per year in a field related to construction or business, including anything from safety lessons to accounting.

“We check all your references, make sure you’re not just operating out of the back of your truck with Skil saw and hammer,” Neal Tong, of Neal Tong Building & Remodeling, said.

The Registered Builder / Remodeler program started with the Home Builders Association of Kentucky and 14 cities have adopted the program. The HBAO initiated its program in 1994.

“I think it’s of utmost importance,” Hayden said. “It’s not an easy program to get into. It takes a little bit of time to become a registered builder. You have to have a proven track record and a list of people that you have built or remodeled for. They check with those people and talk to them about their experience.”

“It’s a program that has worked very well for builders in our association,” Tong said.

The Registered Builder / Remodeler program also serves as a mediator during disputes between contractors and customers.

“If there is an issue regarding someone’s work,” Hayden said, “rather than it going to court and costing a lot of money for both the builder and consumer, (the mediators) can save you thousands of dollars.”

“We’ve had very few complaints,” Tong said, “but whenever they do occur, we have a registered builder committee to get rolling whatever needs to be done to get it resolved as quickly as possible so the client is satisfied. That doesn’t always mean the client is right. Sometimes the builder has done all they possibly can.”

One of the greatest advantages of the Registered Builder / Remodeler program, though, is consumer protection. Ascribing to guidelines from to the National Home Builders Association, registered builders and remodelers are some of the most dependable contractors in Owensboro.

Schmidt said to find the perfect contractor for you job, interview several companies.

“(The consumer) needs to get recommendations from other clients or their friends,” he said. “Interview a remodeler just like you would an employee. How long’s a job going to take? When are my payments due? What should I expect? It can be treacherous on customers if the don’t prepare themselves.”

And that is what the Registered Builder / Remodeler program is designed to accomplish.

Contact HBAO at (270) 688-0353 for the current list of registered builders and remodelers or visit the Web site www.hbao.com.

Reprinted with permission from Messenger-Inquirer.