How I Find Local Contractors on Angies List

Finding local contractors you trust can be a challenge but I’ve found that Angies List can make finding the right person faster and less stressful; whether it’s a handyman, general contractor, or a specialist like an electrician.

We’re looking at buying a house and after a recent inspection needed to get estimates on some needed home repair the home inspector pointed out. Several of the jobs required types of contractors we’d never worked with before so I turned to Angies List help me find good ones.

Searching Angies List

I called up Angies List on the drive to work and told them what I was looking for.  After they verified my account with our email address and mailing address, the rep searched the system for the top rated types of contractors I was looking for.

You can do the searches yourself on the website but you can also call in for help if you’re away from a computer or are having a hard time finding what you need.  The rep went over the companies he’d found and also emailed a report of each to my work and home email address.

Scheduling Estimates

After ending the call I called up one of the companies and setup an appointment to get an estimate.  Once I got to work I went through the other companies in my email and scheduled bids from them as well.  I really like the fact that I was able to get a list of quality contractors and setup appointments with them all in a matter of 45 minutes.

I always try and get three bids to get a feel for the different levels of service that the contractors provide and to figure out the price range for the work. I could just go into the Yellow Pages and setup appointments with three different businesses but with Angies List I can see how past customers rated companies on price, quality, responsiveness, punctuality, and professionalism.

Using that information to help me pick, I have a much better chance the three companies I choose to come out and give me estimates will be quality contractors.

Contractor Reviews

Of course, Angies List doesn’t always have enough recommendations for every type of local contractor.  For example, I was looking for three different types of contractors (mudjacking, foundation work, and mold remediation) when I called up the Angies List rep.

The companies they found for mudjacking and basement work were highly rated but there weren’t many reviews on the mold remediation businesses. I like to find a company with good scores and at least 30 – 35 reviews so you get a better sampling. For some reason the local companies for mold remediation only had a few reviews and some of them weren’t very recent.  Fortunately I have a friend who deals with moldy basements all the time in his job so I called him up and he was able to recommend someone to work with.

Finding Good Contractors

We also had a good referral from our realtor for a contractor to refinish the wood floor in the kitchen and entry and I decided we didn’t need to search any farther after he came out and gave his estimate.  Personal referrals can be a good way to find a quality contractor so we don’t use Angies List in place of referrals from family and friends but in addition to referrals or to check out their ratings from other past customers.

We haven’t had any work done by the companies I found recently so I can’t comment on how they will turn out yet but in the past we’ve had great service from the companies we’ve found.  Most recently we’ve hired an appliance repair contractor and an electrician from Angies List and they both were reasonably priced and did good work.

So if you’re in the market for major home improvement like bathroom remodeling, kitchen renovation, basement remodeling or even just some minor home repairs you might check out contractor reviews on the list.  You can save on a membership with these Angies List discounts.

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

All posts by Ben Edwards