Certified-aging-in-place (CAPS) contracting could be a key to remodeling success in the years to come. As the US population grows older, more homeowners are looking to age in place, which often entails transforming their home into a practical place to live as health issues and mobility begin to play a role in their daily lives.

Such steps include wider, wheelchair-accessible pocket doors, better lighting, reduction of tripping hazards, elevator installation, shower grab bars and tub cuts. Renovations such as these can mean the difference between a later life lived at home or one in a nursing home. That, for many of us, is a powerful incentive, accentuated by the fact that the average home itself is aging and in need of repairs anyway.

The Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) designation can be achieved through a three-day training course offered by the National Association of Home Builders, in conjunction with AARP. Some 3,000 home remodeling and repair contractors have been certified thus far. That’s a relatively small number compared to the fast-growing number of senior citizens in America.

The scope of CAPS remodeling is wide, affecting nearly every aspect of home re-design, from rocker light switches to low-pile carpeting. Even patterned flooring can become a problem for those with poor vision. Understanding the many ways aging-in-place remodeling can benefit the homeowner, as well as how to broach the subject in a respectful way, could be your ticket to an increased work load. Not to mention a work that helps people live out their life in the most comfortable and familiar way they can.

To learn more about becoming a CAPS contractor, see the NAHB website. The included courses teach the technical, business management and customer service skills to succeed in the aging-in-place sector. In the United States and most other developed countries, a growing percentage of the population is reaching seniority, while the younger population is shrinking. Furthermore, most homes in the US are 30 years or older. It’s a tandem that’s creating quite a market for knowledgeable CAPS professionals.

Photo Credit: Chuck Miller

In desert-like conditions, contractors are looking to small remodels to stay afloat. There’s little speculation in the building industry, but there are aging homes, low-cost materials and energy efficiency incentives, which are a ray of light in a trade otherwise rife with downsizing and bankruptcy protection.

A recent article in The Tennessean tells the story of Capitol Homes. The construction company was booming with everybody else for much of the last decade, building 850 homes in eight years, including a high-profile showcase on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Now, things have changed. Owner David Luecke filed for bankruptcy protection and downsized his business to become a home remodeler. Where once Capitol Homes was banging out new home after new home, they are now refinishing basements.

I can relate to some extent. In 2007, when the boom started to wane, I was working with a friend and contractor in Grants Pass, Oregon, a town that soared and fell with the housing boom and bust as much as any town in America. In the span of a few months, his work portfolio changed from 90% new construction to 90% home remodeling, and the mentality of making big bucks turned to that of survival. It started with additions but soon came to include fencing, decks and other small projects. Occasionally, and thankfully, he fit in a new home here and there.

The point is that in times of tight belts and thin wallets, a remodel can be the difference between company malady and company maintenance. And while that may seem a dire choice given the successes of a few years ago, remodeling offers a unique opportunity that can carry a contractor until the housing market stabilizes. Remodeling is your potential lifeboat for a few simple reasons.

Cost of Materials is Low

There is a need for homeowners to remodel, and despite fears about money, a sharp drop in material costs is enough to overcome them. The cost of framing lumber has dropped 30% in the last four years to $254 per 1,000 feet. Granite countertops are now only 15% more expensive than Formica. Moving from building $1 million homes to less than $10,000 remodels is a big step down, there’s no denying that, but without fallen material costs, there might be no work at all.

Energy Efficiency

Another reason also stems from money. But this time, it’s about spending money now to save money (and the environment) later. Government incentives to encourage energy upgrades offer money back in the short-term, and heating, cooling and electricity over the long run are improving ROIs for homeowners and providing jobs for contractors.

Education is playing a key role in energy efficient remodeling. Homeowners are more aware of the environmental and financial consequences of their remodel. They know more and want to know even more yet about material life cycles, clean energy, passive solar design, recycled products and eco-friendly remodeling options. As a contractor vying for survival in the remodeling market, knowledge of green building can be a huge asset. New construction, when it recovers, will certainly come out of its slump with a greener tint, but for now it’s with remodels – basements, bathrooms, kitchens, windows and insulation – that contractors are maintaining some water flow in an otherwise dried-up desert.

A search for “replacement windows” by Replacement Contractor yielded three top results: Window Replacement Center, the Replacement Window Site, and Calfinder. All three sites collect information from homeowners set on remodeling and then sell that information to contractors. Lead-generation companies have become a powerful force in the Internet age. Calfinder, for example, offers homeowners information, resources, a daily blog and free estimates on a variety of home improvement projects.

Contractors, on the other hand, gain access to a vast coffer of internet leads. These leads are exceptionally valuable because homeowners feel safer using a company referred by the lead-generation site. In other words, lead-gen companies are to contractors today what word-of-mouth referrals were before the age of Google.

Not every remodeling contractor is happy with lead-generation services. Some complain that too many companies receive the same lead or that leads are not well-qualified. Yet those who are successful with internet leads are often very successful. George Faerber, owner of Bee Window in Indianapolis, estimated that 8-10% of his leads come from lead-generation companies – among them Calfinder – and that about one-third of all his business volume comes through the Internet in some form or another.

The Right Time is Real Time

What separates success from failure with purchased Internet leads? It’s a matter of timing and determination. The right time to call a prospect won by Internet is in real time. As in now. To illustrate the point, take a couple of Calfinder leads offered to New Windows for America. The first lead came in at 10:37 a.m. and the second at 11:07 a.m. The first lead was not called for several minutes and, upon calling, received no answer. The 11:07 lead was called at 11:08 and a sales meeting was set. The Internet age demands real-time response, especially when you know you are not the only contractor who is receiving a particular lead.

First Come First Serve

Another reason to be quick on the draw – to drop everything and call a prospect – is lead competition. It is rare for a lead-generation company to offer exclusive leads, and the first contractor to make contact is often the first, if only, contractor to schedule an appointment. Developing an internal system for a quick and quality response is vital to turning Internet leads into real life sales. New Windows for America reports that it successfully sets appointments with nine out of 10 lead-gen prospects exactly because it has developed a working system to reply to those leads promptly.

Following Up

Determination is the second key to success with lead-gen inquiries. Even if you call every lead within minutes of their inquiry, you are unlikely to reach everybody on that first try. While immediate response is vital, follow-up is also key. This can mean anything from repeated phone calls for several days following the initial inquiry to monthly or quarterly phone calls and emails.

Cheap and Effective

You may have to work for a lead culled from a lead-generation company, but that lead can be both effective in generating business and relatively inexpensive. Ken Greene of St. Clair Corp, a home improvement company based in St. Louis, sees Internet leads as a major contributor to company sales. He notes that 73% of Calfinder leads become good net business, well above industry average. Furthermore, Calfinder leads are cheaper; marketing cost for St. Clair Corp on a Calfinder lead is 8%, compared to 14% companywide and across all lead sources.

So, Internet leads may take some work on your part to push them beyond the marginal, but companies like New Windows for America and St. Clair Corp have proven that they can be very effective. They do it by adjusting their company routine to accommodate the new wave of lead generation. In the age of Google and real-time technology, you have to help your leads help you.

Via Replacement Contractor Online

In case you missed the news because you were out pounding nails, the housing market has started to recover. Sales rose in all four regions for the 3rd time in a row in June, which hasn’t happened since the boom in 2004. Once people start building confidence in the market, they’ll be calling you for the job they’d been putting off. What does this mean for you? You need to stay visible.

Website Awareness

Website presence is a big plus. It will give your company added exposure. Consumers like to see your work. This is the perfect medium to show before and after pictures of past projects. If you don’t want to mess with domains and piecing it together from scratch, try a turnkey website offered through companies like Homestead. It’s an easy way to get your site up and running fast. Get a magnetic sign for your truck’s door and include your website.

Google Search

Getting around Google’s search rankings is another way to reach potential customers when they enter keywords to search for local businesses.

Log into Google and see if you’re listed by typing your business name and town or keywords and your location, e.g. electrical contractors in Sarasota, Fl. The results will show a map and the local businesses will always come first. Are you listed?

If you’re not in the local database, you’re missing out on some free business.

Here are the easy steps to get you in that local directory:

• Go here and submit your company’s information.
• In two weeks, you’ll receive a letter from Google with your pin number. Enter the pin number in the URL they give you.
• Log into your new Google account, where you can enter your company’s contact information, services, special niches, coupons, specials and hours of operation.

Realtor Referral

Right now, I have 5 contractors working on my new (old) home. I’ve got an electrical contractor, painting contractor, a general contractor that’s helping me with a thousand small jobs, and two bathroom contractors who are partners.

Why am I telling you this? Because three of those contractors were highly recommended to me by my realtor – and I didn’t shop around. Stay visible by networking with realtors. Attend their weekly meetings. If you don’t know where and when the meetings are, then call a realtor and ask.

Take a Walk

Canvas neighborhoods. I’m not talking about door-to-door sales because that’s annoying.  But if you have a niche, like roofing, painting, siding, windows, fencing, etc, and you can see from the street that a house desperately needs work in any of those areas, approach the homeowner and say, “I noticed your roof is missing some tiles, which might indicate the roof is nearing its lifespan… lucky for you, I work in this area a lot and specialize in roofing.” Treat the homeowner with concern about their problem and it won’t seem like a sales call. You never know, a harmless conversation about a certain flaw like missing tiles could turn into a big job for you.

Thank You

Don’t forget to write thank you letters!

First off, really get to know your prospect. Understand their needs, wants and top priorities. The industry is what you know best – you can relate to homeowners and really level with them. The better you understand the clients, the better your suggestions for their living space will be.

I had my house painted recently and the bid came in 60% lower than the other bids. I took the bait because it’s human nature to want to save money. I’m not experienced in house painting, so I didn’t know what kinds of questions to ask to ensure the job was done right – and on time.

Here’s what I got for that low-ball bid:

It took him 2 months to paint the interior rooms of my 1,700 square-foot house. He used low-quality paint so he had to paint multiple coats, which cost more money. He over-sprayed my windows and window frames and didn’t clean it up. He also over-sprayed my ceilings, which meant I had to paint the ceilings as well. He removed all smoke detectors, phone plates, electrical outlets and vents, but didn’t reconnect any of it after the job was done. I’m still sorting through nuts and bolts trying to figure out what goes where and I’m left with wires hanging out of the walls where light fixtures were removed but never replaced.

Now that I’ve been burned, I’ve learned. Now I know the right questions to ask – a little too late. Had one of the higher-bidding contractors taken the time to really understand my needs, I most likely would have trusted them more with the job. What I valued was neatly painted walls, a one-week job, and all fixtures replaced at the end. They then would have had the opportunity to help me understand that based on my values, that level of service would cost more money.

These are the types of questions you can ask to help a potential client better understand the process, problems they could run into, and what outcomes would be unacceptable. Though my questions are paint-related, any contractor can tweak them to fit their niche:

• Do you have any time constraints? Are you concerned about the length of time it will take to complete the job?
• Are you concerned abou the quality of paint (how it looks on your walls and the lifespan of the product) your contractor uses?
• Do you value neatness of work?
• Are you concerned about over-spraying?
• Is it important that your contractor remove fixtures rather than tape around them?
• If light fixtures are removed, is it important that your contractor reconnect the wiring and fixtures so you can actually enjoy your newly painted walls?
• Is it important that your contractor has lien and liability protection?

These are but a few questions you can ask to understand what the homeowner values. Once you have this information, ask them how the low bidder will meet their needs and deliver the quality of service they value.

Suggest to your prospect that they go back to the other bidder with a list of expectations to be included in the signed contract.

Just by showing that you care and taking the time to understand their needs will most likely land you the job. It will get them thinking because you’re teaching them things to think about – remember, you’re the expert, not them. They don’t know what questions to ask or what sort of problems can arise.

If they don’t hire you right on the spot, they’ll most likely hire you after the lower-bid contractor refuses to put into writing any references about guaranteed satisfaction or job time-lines.

When you play smarter and really get to know your prospects by asking key questions, you’ll start taking away more business from low-bidding competitors.

Besides the quality of work, what separates great contractors from so-so contractors is attitude. The difference between like and love is referrals.

Surrounded by contractors – who will I refer?

Paint contractor – I told him I wanted the entire house painted except for the ceilings. He gave me a flat-rate quote, including paint. He didn’t have a checklist and he didn’t ask me any questions, except for how many colors I wanted. I told him he had two weeks to get the job done because I had bathroom contractors lined up for the following week and hardwood floor installation after that.

Results:

• He took a week to prep.
• He gets to the job site every day around 2:00 p.m. and paints until around 6:00 p.m.
• He rinses painting equipment in my kitchen sink and leaves paint all over the sink and counter. He also rinses equipment on the ground cover in my front yard, leaving paint everywhere.
• In the middle of the job, he left to go work on another house for three days.
• When I saw that he hadn’t sprayed the closets, I asked about it. His response? “You never said anything about painting closets.” Frustrated, I replied, “I told you I wanted the entire house painted.” This is why checklists are a good thing. Communication stunk.
• He’s taken over three weeks and the job is still not done. Now he and the bathroom contractors are bumping into each other. The walls are sprayed, but the touch-up work is not finished.
• He accidentally over-sprayed onto the ceilings in every room.
• He painted over the over-sprayed spots with white satin (my ceiling finish is flat) and the whites don’t match at all. So now, we’re looking at having to paint entire ceilings.
• He asked for an additional $300 because according to him, “At this rate, I’m only making $17 per hour,” and I said, “If you didn’t over-spray and you worked faster, you’d be making $40 per hour.”

Will I refer him? No. No. No. 

General contractor – I gave him a checklist of about twenty items I wanted fixed, changed, taken down or added.

• I wanted three posts that housed outdoor lighting removed and electrical cut. He took the posts out and killed the electrical, but left long electrical cords sticking out of the ground. I felt it was sloppy work because he didn’t cut the wires to ground level.
• He keeps telling me that he’s going to make a cover for my fuse box. But he’s already been paid through escrow for this little job and hasn’t fixed the problem yet. It’s been over a month.
• He charged $25 per light fixture to hang exterior lights (on existing boxes) on both sides of my driveway. Since I plan on changing all of my light fixtures inside and out, as well as adding fans, I learned how to do it myself.

Will I refer him? Yes, because he is available for lots of little odd jobs, but I’ll tell my friend that sometimes he doesn’t complete work and that you have to stay on him. I suppose that for the most part, he was a decent contractor.

Bathroom contractors – they asked detailed questions about every aspect of the job and advised me on different solutions. They gave me a flat rate and wrote down all the work that would be done for that rate.

• They show up early in the morning and work hard until 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. every day.
• They call every afternoon to give me updates and their plans for the next day.
• They used their own backer board because they had extra in their trailer at no extra charge.
• They used their own cement at no charge.
• When they tore out the tub, there was a big hole in the sub floor and a missing or damaged joist. They used their own plywood that they had in a shed to fix the sub floor and then fixed the joist for free. One of the contractors had to lie in the crawl space in mud (from the dripping tub when they moved the pipes) and work on his back and they didn’t charge me for labor or materials.
• One of the contractors is an electrical contractor whose advice was badly needed one day. I was disconnecting a light fixture (from a soffit in the family room addition) in order to attach my new fixture. Upon pulling the fixture from the wall, I noticed that the wire looked like an extension cord instead of electrical wires. He said he’d climb through the attic, check it out and fix the wiring if he could get to it. The next day, when I walked into the house, the new light was attached, again at no charge.
• They went shopping with me to help with the vanity dimensions and tile ideas.

The bathroom is still under construction. All that’s left is the tile grout and shower door installation. I took them to lunch yesterday and told them how much I appreciated their hard work and thanked them for the “no charge” work. Their response? “It all comes back full circle.”

Will I refer them? Absolutely. In a heartbeat. No question about it.

Are you getting enough referrals?

My friend, however, who is also the realtor who sold me the house, made a smart suggestion to seal a hallway closet that abutted the bathroom and use that space for bathroom shelving. This made perfect sense because (a) there were too many doors in the hallway, making the space look smaller and (b) I desperately lacked storage in the bathroom.

Why didn’t my contractor come up with the brilliant idea? Perhaps it’s what we call tunnel vision. You go into the project by first listening to what the customer wants, you tell them whether or not it’s doable and then you create their vision. But if you looked around, you might get ideas that will greatly enhance the space and make it more functional for the homeowner.

Now, I know there are hoards of contractors who do make suggestions. But for those of you who don’t, it would not be considered an insult if you did. Most homeowners don’t have vision – they can’t see beyond the walls. I know, I’m one of them. If you can make my life easier by making the space in my home more functional, then I’m all ears.

So, here’s my suggestion to build more value and earn more money per project. Let’s say you’re working on a job and you pass by a staircase with unused, wasted space underneath (and the people have a lot of clutter). Suggest how the homeowner could utilize that space more efficiently with built-in storage. Bam – more money for you. Or you’re working on a job unrelated to the kitchen but notice that the kitchen is dark and small. Suggest installing skylights and removing a section of the wall to form a window through an adjoining room – wham-O, more $$.

Trust me, I’m a homeowner who needs you. These suggestions will pay off. Don’t just go into a job for the sake of the job. Go in for the client and help make their home a better place to live.

As a contractor, obtaining some level of green certification could make all the difference in a recession-weary building industry. Demand is way up for green building; spurred by government incentives, efficient materials and appliances, as well as increased awareness of long-term savings and environmental impact.

Understanding those factors and all the products and practices that go along with green building is key to winning today’s clients’ trust and signature. Proving that you have such knowledge and expertise only makes lead generation and confirmation that much easier. There are several ways to become a green certified contractor; some are nationally recognized, some vary by state or region.

Following are a few examples of how you can become a green certified professional:

LEED certification

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program has become the number one standard for modern, green home design. Typically, LEED is referred to as a ratings system for sustainable buildings. At the same time, the USGBC also offers accreditation for contractors.

There are three levels of certification: LEED Green Associate, LEED AP and LEED Fellow. For a fee, and with some proof of previous work on a LEED project, you can take an exam, pass it, and become a registered green professional recognized by the most reputable green building organization in the country. For more info, see the USGBC website.

Green Advantage (GA)

Green Advantage provides training and certification for aspiring green building professionals. They do so on three levels: commercial, residential, and commercial-residential. Tests cover six topics, including basic understanding of green building, site and land use, water, energy and atmosphere, materials and indoor environmental quality. The exam costs $175 and includes three years-worth of certification. Learn more about Green Advantage.

National Association of Home Builders

NAHB Green is a program that focuses on green building education, resources and, of course, certification for green professionals. Their CGP program, offered through the NAHB’s University of Housing, requires 24 hours of approved training and education every three years. Courses are offered at NAHB national events and CGP designation is only available to individuals.

Build It Green

Build It Green is an example of a statewide certification program – in this case, California. Build It Green offers training, workshops and certification for contractors in the state. Training varies from the basics of green building to green remodeling and retrofitting. Build It Green also has its own LEED-like ratings systems for homes in California.

Training and certification through Build It Green costs $400 for members and $450 for non-members. Certification is good for two years before re-certification (at just $50) is required.

While LEED is currently the industry standard in green building ratings (and often the status required for many states’ green building tax credits), expect more states or statewide organizations to develop their own standards. Florida is one example.

LEED-certified buildings already represent six percent of the commercial building industry and over 40 percent of new buildings have applied for certification. Expect green building in the residential sector to see similar growth in the near future. The USGBC now has a ratings system for single-family homes, and resulting data should be forthcoming next year.

Even more important will be the push at the federal level to incentivize home efficiency upgrades. Tax credits, low interest loans and other factors will fuel the sustainable housing fire in the coming years.

For a remodeling contractor in a very competitive market, that could mean a shift in direction, a change in the questions you hear from homeowners, and perhaps even some new education (USGBC offers classes, webinars and LEED certification for aspiring green builders). A vital key to success in cementing leads and getting contracts signed will be knowledge of green building practices, materials, and trends.

Even now, when times are tight and wallets tighter, off-hand knowledge of the pricing and price differences between conventional products and newer eco-friendly rivals could make all the difference for you, the contractor. And perhaps even more unusual for many remodelers will be the need to understand the policy and politics that drive green building. Homeowners themselves are more educated these days and are likely to at least have a general understanding or awareness of federal tax incentives – can you explain the intricacies to them?

The easiest way to look at the benefits of becoming a “green” remodeling contractor (and soon) is simply to put it in conventional terms. Historically, the calling cards of a quality contractor have been experience, knowledge, communication, and of course, quality work. In the inevitable green age of home building and design, those four characteristics will take on slightly new definitions. All the old qualities must be present, but with the added green aura. And the sooner you’re educated about working with green materials, the further ahead of the pack you’ll be when the majority see the light.

For those new to the QR survey, it’s meant to gauge customer satisfaction on a large scale and identify those specific traits & practices of the remodelers who garner the highest satisfaction ratings. The survey accomplishes this by asking how satisfied, in general, remodeling customers were and then breaking it down to more specific topics, such as professionalism, availability, scheduling, etc.

By the way, most remodeling contractors get a passing rating from their customers; about a 6.5 out of 10. It’s not great, but its not bad either. The key is identifying what set the high scores apart from the low scores.

Availability and Communication

The two go hand-in-hand. A contractor who is on the job most of the time will be available for questions and answers, thus increasing communication levels. And it was communication that seemed to dominate the remodeling survey. The largest disparity between overall satisfaction ratings came in these categories.

Photo Credit: Qualified Remodeler

Customers who found their contractor there, on the job, when they needed him gave considerably higher ratings than those who listed that their contractor was often absent from the job or hard to get hold of.

While other factors are important, the consistency of numbers regarding communication were telling. With dominant regularity, those contractors scoring high in attentiveness, communicative ability, and presence on the job scored high overall, and were more likely to be hired again or referred to a customer’s friend.

See the full summary of the survey at Qualified Remodeler.