If you own a home, you’ve probably considered an addition or renovation at some point.
Perhaps you’ve even heard an advertisement or gotten approached by someone from a gutter protection company.
But how do you know whether you’re being offered a good price on gutter protection or any other home improvement?
That’s what a listener of the Clark Howard Podcast asked.
How Do I Know If I’m Getting a Good Price on Gutter Protection?
Am I getting a good offer on gutter protection, or are these salespeople taking advantage of me?
That’s what a listener wanted to know on the April 12 podcast episode.
Asked Barry in Georgia: “I am considering gutter protection covers and have gotten a quote. My concerns are: (1) it is very expensive and (2) they seem to continually drop their price each time they contact me. They have gone from over $8,000 to $4,500 at the last contact. Are they reputable and legitimate?”
First, adding protection covers to your gutters is a cottage industry. Leaves that clog your gutter and cause water to back up can cause major damage to your home. So gutter protection covers are a legitimate business.
But Barry is right to raise an eyebrow at this company’s sales tactics. How are they to be trusted on price if one day they’re telling you $8,000 is a good deal and not long after they’re slashing the price by nearly 50% — and still seem eager for you to buy?
“Right now you’re just competing with yourself with this company that is playing this used car salesman kind of thing. ‘Well, you know, for $8,000, this is really going to help you so much,'” Clark says. “And then you say no and then they come back again and again and again. Now you say they’re down to $4,500.
“What that signals to me is that you need to start getting quotes from the various competitors, of which you’ll find many. Is the legit price $2,000? Is it $4,000? Is it $6,000? The only way you get the truth is to get quotes from competitors.”
Clark’s Advice on Hiring a Contractor
Clark’s advice here is not specific to gutter protection covers. We recently wrote about Clark’s six tips for hiring a contractor.
No. 1 on the list is “research and collect information.” No. 4? “Get multiple quotes.”
“When you get quotes, the quotes have to be very specific,” Clark says. “I find that when people really get in trouble with a contractor is when they take a standard form they’ve found on the internet and they’ll put in something like ‘rebuild deck,’ and that’s all they’ll say.”
Taking the time to research, and talking to multiple companies, can be annoying. We’re all busy. But when it comes to work on your home that costs thousands of dollars, it’s important to get it right.
As Clark points out, it’s a much easier problem to solve on the front end than it is to fix on the back end if they rip you off or do a poor job.
Final Thoughts
When you hire a contractor or any company to do work on your home, it’s important to get multiple price quotes.
Otherwise, you have very little idea of whether the company talking to you is offering a market rate price.
Plus, it’s important to make sure you’re doing business with a company that is going to give you quality, long-lasting work. It’s worth taking the extra time in the beginning to get the hire as right as possible.
