Hiring a water damage restoration contractor

• Hiring a water damage restoration contractor

If your home or business has sustained water damage as a result of this week’s storms, take action right away. There’s a good change mold and mildew have begun to develop, and prolonged damage can weaken your home’s structure and make it more vulnerable to pests. Likewise, as difficult as the repair of storm home damage can be, these stressful events often attract unscrupulous or incompetent contractors out to make a fast buck from the misfortune of others. The Better Business Bureau has the following suggestions for consumers needing to restore their homes after water damage:

Hire only local contractors qualified in mold remediation and property restoration. To find local contractors and restorers check with the Cleaning and Restoration Association and the Restoration Industry Association for a list of contractors. When talking to a potential contractor for your restoration job, ask to see a list of references and more importantly, call them. Check with the BBB to see if they are an Accredited Business.

Use caution with any contractor that contacts you out-of-the-blue or is going door-to-door to offer his services. Learn more about storm chasers.

Act promptly. Every insurance contract requires the policyholder to mitigate damages. Do what you can safely do to mitigate your loss. Some examples include cutting off the water, moving contents (things inside your house) to a safe place and tarping the roof (but only if it can be safely done.)

Do not be surprised if the insurance check is issued to both the homeowner and the lender that holds the mortgage. The contractor may require you to sign a statement acknowledging that the lien of the mortgage attaches to the insurance check. This is a common practice since Hurricane Katrina and helps to make sure the insurance check is being used to restore the property.

Keep a copy of any contract you sign or any warranty papers your contractor gives you.

Be patient. In areas where there has been extensive damage, it may take a while for local contractors to serve everyone with damages, resulting in an understandable frustration. The scammer understands this too and will attempt to manipulate these feelings of frustration to the homeowner’s detriment. Being pressured into making a decision that might come back to haunt the homeowner.

Be highly suspicious of any contractor who tries to get payment for the entire job on the front end. Often times, if the homeowner pays upfront, this “contractor” is never seen again. For certain jobs, deposits are customary for particular jobs.

Keep in mind:

• Those at greatest risk from mold are people with asthma, allergies, other breathing conditions or who have suppressed immune systems. If there is mold in the house, it must be cleaned up and the source of the problem must be repaired. Controlling moisture is the most critical factor for preventing mold growth. If you don’t control the moisture, the mold will return.

• Iftheheating,ventilationandairconditioningsystem (HVAC) was flooded, make sure the system is checked and cleaned by a service technician before turning it on.

• Use commercial products to remove mold from hard surfaces. Remember never to mix bleach with ammonia. Open windows and doors. Wear non-porous gloves, eyewear and a N95 mask and wear it when inside the building.

• Some contracts contain a clause where substantial cancellation fees or “liquidated damages” are required if the homeowner decides not to use the contractor after the cancellation period referred to in the contract.

• Liquidated damages are damages which both sides agree to up front if the contract is breached. Liquidated damages clauses are perfectly legal, however, they are often buried in the fine print of the contract. The liquidated damages clause in a homeowner’s contract may mean that the homeowner could be liable for as much as the entire dollar amount if they try to get out of the contract after the cancellation period. If an estimate or a contract is confusing, don’t be afraid to ask the contractor to break it down into terms you can understand. Again, don’t sign anything you don’t understand or that you don’t agree with.

Disaster victims should never feel forced to make a hasty decision or to choose an unknown contractor. Start With Trust. For reliable information, lists of BBB Accredited Businesses by industry and BBB Business Reviews you can trust on local businesses, visit www.bbb.org.

For more information

To find water damage restoration companies near you, go to bbb.org. Read the our tips on preparing for and recovering from flooding as well as avoiding flood damaged cars. If there have been floods in your area, read our advice for avoiding storm chasers. Read more tips on hiring a contractor. Find out more ways to stay safe before, during and after flooding at ready.gov.