2016 Contractors Award!

Our Realtors Weigh in on their Favourite’s!

In the era of DIY, we are quick to turn to Google, Pinterest and every type of web search we can think of for every life hack we can find! Many times, the reality is that you just can’t beat the skills and knowledge of a hired contractor. In Bermuda, we have a wide variety of contractors and businesses to turn to for all aspects in our homes, and it’s important to rely on their knowledge and experience.

In this issue we celebrate those contractors and businesses with our 2nd annual Contractors Awards! We reached our to our Realtors and asked them who they feel is the best to turn to in a variety of categories – from plumbing to landscapers, home insurance to electricians… who stood out in their field in 2016?

Why use them? Where do you find them? How do you know they will do quality work? Who should you work with? And what type of contractor do you actually need? Our Realtors work with them every day – have a read of their feedback and celebrate with us our 2016 winners and honourable mentions!

Where do you find your contractors?

The overwhelming answer (no surprise here) is – word of mouth. A third party recommendation remains the way to go. It gives you feedback based on real and tested service and satisfaction based on results. 92% of our Realtors used word of mouth or referrals to find their next contractor!

What type of contractor do you seek after the most?

If you are a General Contractor – Listen Up! Our Realtors let us know you are the most sought after type of contractor on the island. As a “jack of all trades”, it’s not surprising that Realtors and their clients would need a contractor like you to call on. Painters and Small/Odd Jobs came a close second as a sought after contractor. Make sure to get yourself out there so they know where to find you.

What type of contractor do you have a hard time finding?

For many of our participants the contractor that they have the hardest time finding is a Small/Odd Job or Handyman. There was an almost unanimous vote that finding someone who did small or odd jobs was nearly impossible on the island. Many have a hard time finding a good Handyman and you don’t hear about them often. So get out those business cards and hit the streets. Let them know you’re out there!

What’s your favorite type of contractor to work with?

With so many important qualities you would want in a contractor, it was hard to narrow down just a few. The most favourite type of contractors our Realtors liked to work with was surprisingly smaller companies, preferring the attention to detail and customer service that they are better able to give.

An honest contractor was also among the top favorite, followed by reliable, communicative, and knowledgeable.

What is the number one quality you look for in a contractor?

Reliability was our Realtors number one quality with a whopping 70% of the votes. 23% felt that experience was key and knowledge of the trade was also in the mix with 7%.

INDOOR:

OUTDOOR

OTHER

All surveys were conducted as anonymous online questionnaires. Results were tallied by the IPN team and based on the responses given. We hope to continue to grow and evolve our awards to make them bigger and better. We encourage all Realtors and our readers to keep a look out and please participate in our 2017 Contractors Awards with surveys to be released later this year.