OCEAN PINES—The National Center for the Prevention of Home Improvement Fraud (NCPHIF) will host a pair of workshops in Ocean Pines aimed at educating homeowners on how to protect themselves from home repair fraud and scams. The workshops are being held in conjunction with National Preparedness Month.
The SmartPower workshops — “Protecting Yourself from Home Repair Contractor Fraud and Scams” — will be held on Monday, Sept. 22, in the East Room at 239 Ocean Parkway, Berlin, Md. 21811. One workshop will take place from 1-2:30 p.m., and the second from 6-7:30 p.m. The workshops are free and open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.
Topics to be discussed include valuable do’s and don’ts around hiring a contractor; typical scams; how to find contractors; what should and should not be in your contract; the building permitting process; insurance issues you may not know about, how to set up payment schedules, how to resolve problems with your contractor; and what to do before, during and after a project.
As part of National Preparedness Month, held each September and sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Americans are urged to prepare for emergencies and learn what protective measures they should take before, during and after an emergency.
Home improvement and construction fraud ranks as consumers’ top 10 complaints, according to the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators (NACPI). And, the Better Business Bureau reports that inquiries regarding home contractors outnumber all other inquiries.
“Educating yourself before something happens cannot be overstated,” said Phae Moore, a home repair fraud prevention expert and NCPHIF’s executive director. “Homeowners need a great deal of information about do’s and don’ts when it comes to hiring a contractor. Empowering yourself also cuts down on the frequent problem of typical miscommunication between homeowners and legitimate contractors.”
Moore recently published an instructional guidebook, “Don’t Even Think About Ripping Me Off!” to empower homeowners who need to hire contractors. The step-by-step workbook offers directions and worksheets to aid in evaluating, hiring, overseeing and paying home improvement contractors.
“It is so frustrating to get calls from homeowners who have been scammed. It breaks my heart because by then, it’s too late,” Moore said. “Homeowners may not know that even if they pay a contractor in full, if he doesn’t pay the subcontractors or suppliers, they can file a lien against their home. Where many homeowners get into trouble is in the payment process. Some may not know that they can write into the contract that they can retain payments from the contractor under certain circumstances. Homeowners may also not know who is ultimately responsible for obtaining the building permit or possible consequences of ‘doing it yourself.’”
“The key to protecting yourself is to be proactive,” Moore added. “Educating yourself before you hire anyone, sign anything, or give any money up front, is the best advice I can give.”
Moore first became concerned with contractor fraud after witnessing her grandmother become financially and emotionally victimized by a fraudulent contractor. Since then, Moore has made it her mission to ensure communities do not become easy targets.
“I was shocked at how easy contractor fraud was,” Moore said. “I absolutely remember the pain on her face. That will stay with me always.”
For more information, visit www.PreventContractorFraud.org.
The SmartPower workshops — “Protecting Yourself from Home Repair Contractor Fraud and Scams” — will be held on Monday, Sept. 22, in the East Room at 239 Ocean Parkway, Berlin, Md. 21811. One workshop will take place from 1-2:30 p.m., and the second from 6-7:30 p.m. The workshops are free and open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.
Topics to be discussed include valuable do’s and don’ts around hiring a contractor; typical scams; how to find contractors; what should and should not be in your contract; the building permitting process; insurance issues you may not know about, how to set up payment schedules, how to resolve problems with your contractor; and what to do before, during and after a project.
As part of National Preparedness Month, held each September and sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Americans are urged to prepare for emergencies and learn what protective measures they should take before, during and after an emergency.
Home improvement and construction fraud ranks as consumers’ top 10 complaints, according to the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators (NACPI). And, the Better Business Bureau reports that inquiries regarding home contractors outnumber all other inquiries.
“Educating yourself before something happens cannot be overstated,” said Phae Moore, a home repair fraud prevention expert and NCPHIF’s executive director. “Homeowners need a great deal of information about do’s and don’ts when it comes to hiring a contractor. Empowering yourself also cuts down on the frequent problem of typical miscommunication between homeowners and legitimate contractors.”
Moore recently published an instructional guidebook, “Don’t Even Think About Ripping Me Off!” to empower homeowners who need to hire contractors. The step-by-step workbook offers directions and worksheets to aid in evaluating, hiring, overseeing and paying home improvement contractors.
“It is so frustrating to get calls from homeowners who have been scammed. It breaks my heart because by then, it’s too late,” Moore said. “Homeowners may not know that even if they pay a contractor in full, if he doesn’t pay the subcontractors or suppliers, they can file a lien against their home. Where many homeowners get into trouble is in the payment process. Some may not know that they can write into the contract that they can retain payments from the contractor under certain circumstances. Homeowners may also not know who is ultimately responsible for obtaining the building permit or possible consequences of ‘doing it yourself.’”
“The key to protecting yourself is to be proactive,” Moore added. “Educating yourself before you hire anyone, sign anything, or give any money up front, is the best advice I can give.”
Moore first became concerned with contractor fraud after witnessing her grandmother become financially and emotionally victimized by a fraudulent contractor. Since then, Moore has made it her mission to ensure communities do not become easy targets.
“I was shocked at how easy contractor fraud was,” Moore said. “I absolutely remember the pain on her face. That will stay with me always.”
For more information, visit www.PreventContractorFraud.org.