There are a lot of things you have to do during the home buying process when looking at potential real estate. You have to sit down with your financial lender and go over borrowing options, determine how much you can afford to spend on a home, scout the neighbourhoods for nearby schools or grocery stores, talk to an architect and hire a real estate agent, just to name a few. Buying a house or condo that you're going to call home isn't an easy thing to do. It also doesn't get that much easier after you've bought the home.

During the home inspection you might have found some repairs that needed to be done once you moved in. Or perhaps you came up with some renovation ideas. Whether you need to re-pave the driveway or want to install new modern bathroom vanity sets, you're going to have to hire a professional to do the job. At least you should hire a professional contractor to do the job. No matter how much money you think you'll save by not hiring someone else to do the job for you and doing it yourself, it's just not worth it in the long run.

When hiring a contractor to do any work in the home for sale you just bought it's a always a good idea to ask them for references from previous clients. You want to know the type of worker the person you're about to hire is. You'll want to hear the good stories about them to put your mind at ease. Contractors get hired for their next job based on their last job. It's how the business works. They should have no problem whatsoever offering you a list of previous clients that can vouch for them.

People who have hired contractors before will gladly give a good recommendation if it's warranted. However, if a contractor didn't do a good job or the previous clients weren't satisfied, you'll hear about that too. You'll want to hear those stories so you can form your own opinion. Everyone is different when it comes to satisfaction levels on home repair jobs. It's up to you to decide if a bad referral is enough to not hire a contractor. One bad apple doesn't need to spoil the whole bunch if the other references give glowing recommendations.

Asking for references is key to hiring a good contractor. Hiring a good contractor for one job means you'll always have a go to person when it comes to future repairs. If you ever decide to one day sell your home and need some quick repairs done you won't have to scramble to hire someone on short notice since you know a contractor already. It never hurts to be prepared for all scenarios.