Choosing the right HVAC Contractor: For a lot of homeowners, the HVAC equipment is the largest investment they're going to make in their home. and for some folks, it's the third largest investment they'll make aside from their home or car. And finally, in most homes, the HVAC equipment is the largest energy consumer. So this is a very big decision.

and in this video I Want to give you 10 tips if you are looking for a Contractor on what to look for, how to choose the right contractor. We go into even further depth on our website new Hbac Guide.com where we dive deep into the steps and as you go through the process of purchasing that HVAC equipment. But in this video I Want to give you kind of 10 tips. As you're comparing contractors, you're trying to decide what's the best route to go I Want to give you 10 tips to avoid some of the pitfalls that a lot of homeowners deal with.

So let's get right into it. Number One: I Would recommend getting several quotes. A lot of mistakes when I'm helping folks on our website cuz we do help folks from time to time. A lot of them in my opinion are just simply not getting enough quotes.

When they'll come to me and they'll say I've gotten a couple quotes and this is kind of what I'm looking at and this is what I'm dealing with. This is what they're saying to me and I'll say to them I Think you need to get a couple more quotes I'm not getting the warm fuzzies, you're not getting the warm fuzzies, I Think that's the goal at the end of the day. If you're going to make this large investment, let's do business with somebody you feel good about doing business with. So get multiple quotes.

Compare them objectively, but you're also allowed to compare them a little bit emotionally. And the question I get a lot is Josh How many quotes should I get I Think the answer to that is how many are you willing to get. Most good companies are going to provide you with a free estimate for a new installation. Anyway, a good company is going to come in and treat you well.

You're going to know right from the get-go Hey, this is the right one. It's not all about price and we're going to go through a few more things that you should need to consider. Number two. My second tip would be: Ignore the Internet.

Ignore this guy, right? Ignore some of the things that we see on the internet where folks will be giving tips on things like this is the best brand or this is the best type of system and things like that I Am A True Believer in that you need to get advice from your local Pros Just because some guy on the other side of the country says that this brand is best, you may not even have a good supplier in your area for that brand. or maybe that brand just doesn't have very good warranty support in your area area. Whatever the case is, find a good company, find a good contractor, and then go with the brand that they love. Go with the brand that they're going to stand behind for years to come.

And that leads me to my next point. which is number three is: brand doesn't matter as much as the install anyway. I've heard it said many times in our industry that you could take a really good brand and a really good piece of equipment and if it's not installed correctly, you're going to have issues. I Don't care what brand it is, the install matters more than the brand.

Now are some some brands in my opinion, better than others? Yes. But at the end of the day, if you find a good contractor and go with the brand that they're going to stand behind and it's going to be installed correctly, you went with a good company, you're going to avoid a lot of problems. Number four, Check their licensing and insurance. If they're a good company, they should have no problems supplying you with that.

If they're having a a problem providing you with that information, maybe that's a little bit of a red flag right there, even if they are licensed and insured. If they're the kind of company or the type of individual that has a problem just supplying you the proof that they are who they say they are, that they have the Protections in place that they say they do, then maybe that's a red flag. Number five. It's also, in my opinion, okay to ask for references.

If they really are a good company, they should be able to provide you with a couple references. A couple customers, a couple folks that they've done business with that can vouch for them that can say something good or bad about them, right? Of course you. They want it to be good, but just someone that can give you some third- party advice before you spend the kind of money you're about to spend. Number Six: How are they treating you From the very start? If you make a phone call to that company and you know they're already not responding very well or treating you a certain way, that might be a tail sign of how things are going to go in the future.

Is this a company you want to deal with or do business with and have to communicate with for years to come I would take note of how they answer their phones, how they respond, how they communicate. All that to me plays a role on whether or not I want to do business with them. I Wanted to take a quick break from the video and thank the sponsor of this video Aeros Seal Leaky Duckor is one of the biggest if not the biggest energy wasters in most homes in the United States and my favorite way of fixing that problem is Aeros Seal. They'll come into your home, they'll test your duct work and how leaky it is.

They'll seal all the duct work with a machine and then they'll test it again and make sure that you got what you paid for. Customers have reported a significant savings on their energy bills after using Aeros Seal. I'll put a link down in the description of this video. Thanks again to Aeros Seal.

And now let's get back to the video. Number seven: How are they structuring when they propose what they're going to install as far as payment plan, scheduling, and so on. Are they asking for a lot of money up front that might play a role in who you want to do business with? I've read articles on the Internet where they say pay no money up front I Think in some, especially some areas of our country, that is just common practice with a lot of contractors that they're going to ask for some sort of deposit up front. But a deposit is different from full payment If they're asking for everything or full payment up front, that might be a little different story.

A good company is not going to ask for full payment UPF front. Unless they've done business with you in the past and they' found out that you're the kind of person that doesn't pay your bills on time, then maybe they might ask for payment up front, but a good company in most cases on an installation, they're not going to ask for the complete full payment up front. Number Eight: What is their warranties like? What are they offering? How is it worded? Hopefully they're doing some sort of contract and everything is in writing. What does that contract actually say about warranties and how you're going to be covered in years to come? I would read that wording, but I would also take note of what's not worded there, what is not actually being spelled out.

It's okay to ask. Hey, you know I noticed that your warranty goes over parts and labor and whatever it goes over, does it cover refrigerant? Let's get that in writing. What happens if this scenario happens Or that? Just ask a few questions about their warranty coverage and it might play a role in who you decide to do business with. Number nine: I would go into most situations.

so if I'm going to get three quotes, I would want to know exactly what I'm wanting, right? So I would go into those situations knowing the system that I want, knowing that, what capacity and and so on. and you may not know all of that right away. but it's important for you to compare apples to apples. In other words, if you've got one company that's proposing, say a straight AC outdoor unit with a furnace versus another company that's doing, say, a high-end heat pump system with an air handler.

It's hard to compare apples to apples. never mind if the brands are the same or not. So I would have some semblance of an idea of kind of what you want. But in addition to that, I would ask for their opinions even if you know what you want.

Hey, what is your opinion on this or that? That also might play a role in who you want to do business with. And then finally, in my opinion, I save the best for last. Number 10 is what is their online reputation like. Obviously you might want to check reviews I was just helping someone not long ago on our website where they were talking to this company.

they had gotten a quote from them, they were going back and forth about warranties and I can't remember everything he was asking me but it was several things about their proposal and I just happened to look up their reputation and it was not good at all. It was very low Google ratings and they had had over a th000 reviews and they still only had like a 3.2 Google rating which in my opinion is very low. If you got over a th000 reviews and you still are not at four or higher, that might be telling you something. and I don't think Google's the end all I Think it's okay to look on a few different websites, but I would avoid websites where the company can pay money to have a better representation on that website.

even the Better Business Bureau They have their accreditation program where they can pay to be accredited. I Would be careful on any websites where the contractor can pay money to adjust their online reputation. Other sites like: Yelp they can pay money to be represented in a different way on their website I Forget the verbiage that they use, but Yelp has some of their reviews where they call them recommended reviews and then if you scroll a little lower it'll say reviews that are Notre currently recommended and you have to click on those to see all the reviews. Just be aware that some websites these guys can pay money to be represented differently.

I'm not saying that Yelp is doing anything wrong I'm just saying that as you're going through this and you're checking their online reputation, be careful on these websites where the companies can pay money. so that's it guys. that's my 10. Let me know your thoughts down in the comment section below.

I'd love to hear those if you like this video. I Think you'll like this one even more. It's where I go through an airflow solution if you've got Airf flow issues in your house. That is a good solution in almost every situation.

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