Contractors have the 2nd most consumer complaints in the US...

Article: https://www.remodeling.hw.net/business/remodelers-rank-second-in-consumer-complaints-for-second-consecutive-year_o

The #1 offender is car dealerships which have 5 times more transactions than contractors, so per transaction contractors have more complaints than used car dealerships! 

I don’t know of any other industry where it’s easier for a business to raise the price on a homeowner than remodeling. 

Everyone’s busy but spending a little bit of time on this can save you countless hours of extra work, a ton of stress, and a lot of your money not wasted. If you’re not willing to spend 30 to 60 minutes researching a contractor, then you’re likely destined to have issues and be one of the above statistics. 

Here's the top reasons for consumer complaints against contractors:

  • Remodeling companies are notorious for increasing the price on homeowners once they have them locked into a contract or have completed the demolition phase. Here are some of the main reasons this happens:
  • The remodeling company means well but they underestimated the project from the start and they have to find a reason to increase the cost on you. This is often due to them not using a pricing software with a price catalog to ensure all items are included.
  • The remodeling contractor didn’t take the time to get all of the information from you to estimate the project properly and will be telling you that wasn’t included in the scope of work, hence adding thousands of dollars to the project.
  • The remodeling company purposely low balled the offer to get you in the door and then they raise the price.
  • The remodeling company is unorganized and they don’t know how to price the job.
  • They don’t use pricing software which means when they realize how much it costs they increase the price. This is so common that many homeowners just expect it now and remodelers just think it’s the way it has to be.
  • The scary part is if you don’t give the contractor more money they will walk away. This is unfortunately more common in this industry than any other industry.
  • Shoddy workmanship was another reason for so many consumer complaints. The challenge is some contractors talk a good game, but don't do what they say they will.
  • We get a ton of call backs from other contractors mistakes and issues.
  • The challenge is several types of projects like showers have to be completely gutted and redone in a specific way to ensure no quality issues like leaks or cracks. This means the homeowner has to pay the cost of 2 remodels because the first one has to be redone.
  • The contractor doesn't communicate well with the homeowner and the homeowner doesn’t know whats happening or when project stages will be completed.
  • It is very stressful to get a contractor that is too busy or doesn't have a dedicated Project Manager to constantly communicate with the homeowner. Not knowing when or even IF your project will be completed is a huge stress homeowners shouldn't have to go through.
  • Contractors don’t finish the project and leave the homeowner stuck with the a bill and an unfinished home that they then have to find another contractor and try to get their money back from the original contractors.
  • Unfortunately sometimes contractors do not finish the remodel project and leave the homeowner in a very tough position.  If you don't think it is common, do a google search like this one.
  • People don’t remodel often. In my experience, some homeowners don’t take the remodeling and construction part as serious as they should. 
  • That is one of the reasons we get a lot of callbacks - the homeowner didn’t know what questions to ask the contractor to evaluate them properly. Here is a list of important questions to ask a home remodel contractor

  • If you don't ask all of the questions in that link above, you are increasing your chance of being one of the statistics of someone who had a consumer complaint against a contractor.
  • The remodeling company is not licensed, bonded or insured. If they don’t care about protecting themselves and their business from lawsuits, insurance issues, etc, will they care about your home or remodel project? 
  • If they aren't licensed, bonded and insured, the risk is actually on the homeowner, just as much if not more than it is on the contractor. 
  • Make sure to check their contractor license number on the ROC's website: https://roc.az.gov​
  • The remodeling contractor is doing the work just one or 2 people and it will take them 2-3 times as long to complete the project, while increasing the price on you.
  • It's great to work with a small local business.  I'm a big fan of hiring local whenever possible, such as our company.  If they are only going to have one or 2 people working on your project, depending on the size, it could drastically increase the amount of time it takes for them to finish.
  • If the company is really small there is a chance they are cutting corners often unknowingly, and those shortcuts almost always hurt the homeowner and rarely the contractor.

Choosing the lowest bid is enticing but it’s one of the main reasons homeowners have nightmares with contractors 

Here’s another way to look at it:

  • You don't pick the cheapest car...
  • You don't pick the cheapest house... 
  • You don't pick the cheapest surgeon...
  • You don’t pick the cheapest vacation...
  • You don't pick the cheapest education...

So WHY pick the cheapest remodel contractor?

We are often the one homeowners contact after they’ve had an issue with another contractor. We get a lot of callbacks for shoddy workmanship, remodelers taking money without finishing the work, and several other common contractor issues.

Most contractors will not touch a project that is partially done by another contractor. Most of them will require demoing and starting over depending on what type of project it is like a shower because of liability. Most of the good contractors are too busy and just won’t take a job that’s partially completed.

Homeowners don’t remodel often, so they don't know all of the questions to ask and ways to evaluate contractors

The challenge is most homeowners don’t remodel often and don’t know what to look out for.
So the 2 main things they know to ask and look out for are “How much will it cost” and “how long will it take”

Many homeowners haven’t remodeled often and don’t realize the horrible experiences most remodel contractors create for homeowner. Some homeowners don’t realize how serious remodeling is.

This is why we provide a ton of resources for homeowners to help out regardless if they choose us.

Here are several resources to reduce your chance of being one of the statistics:

Vital Question to ask Home Remodelers

Not asking these questions increases your chance of having terrible contractor issues.

View Questions To Ask

Webinar: How To Successfully Remodel

How to remodel without the contractor issues. We provide a few free items on the webinar.

Join Webinar

Avoiding The Wrong Contractors

Article outlining the questions to ask a contractor to avoid issues & stress

View Article

Client's Frequently Asked Questions

The top FAQ's on researching companies, the remodel process, financials, and more

View FAQ

Kitchen & Bathroom Cost Calculators

Provides the national averages and 2 remodel calculators to input your specifics

View Calculators

Remodel Financing Options

This provides the pros & cons of each remodel financing option available for homeowners

View Article

Shower Remodel Process

Homeowners are surprised by how much work goes into showers, see the process here.

See The Process

Fun & Functional Storage Options

You may be surprised by how many options are available to enhance your remodel

View Your Options

Not reviewing those resources will increase your chance of issues which costs you more money, a ton of stress and more time dealing with all of the issues.

Here Is Why Our Remodel Proposal May Be Higher

We don’t participate in the common industry practice of low balling to get your business. We would rather lose a few job opportunities than unethically low ball a homeowner.

The #1 complaint by consumers is the remodel company increased the price significantly on the homeowner.

I completely understand how a lower proposal amount can be attractive. Our proposals include all allowance selection items, labor, materials and a Project Manager.

We use software so that way we don’t forget items like many contractors do. Many remodel companies use excel which is not a good way for estimating, and it causes you to have to pay more as the project starts.


Check out the 3rd video on this page about how many contractors estimate and how they have to ask for more money verses how our software prevents that: https://phxhomeremodeling.com/about-phoenix-home-remodeling/

(The first video on that page may be worth checking out too because it discusses how I had issues picking the less expensive proposal, other contractor issues, why we started the business, why I won’t let that happen to anyone and why working with us will be less stressful.)

One thing I know with us is you will have less issues to deal with compared to other contractors. (Project going several weeks longer than planned, house not kept clean, price going up for obvious items that shouldn’t have, hard to communicate with/get a hold of, etc)

It’s better not hearing about it from me but our clients through Google:
https://goo.gl/maps/UGh4hJ6qPcE2

We get a lot of calls to fix other contractors work. And a lot of times we have to redo all of it so they have to pay for the remodel twice.


Phoenix Home Remodeling is the most organized, process-oriented, and transparent home remodel company in the valley. 

We will be your respectful, responsive, and trustworthy partner in creating the dream space you have always wanted and love sharing with your friends, family & neighbors.