Strategies for Finding
Home-Improvement Help

Question: I own a home that was built in the 1940s, and now needs to be torn down. Though I had planned to rebuild it, at this point the cost seems prohibitive. How do I find reasonable and excellent contractors who will take down the house and remove any asbestos and lead? Also, how do I find building contractors and reputable builders who can provide a cost-effective and excellent design -- taken from people who want to work with them?

-- Noreen, Oceanside, Calif.

Noreen: If you suspect the home contains asbestos or lead, it should be tested. If either is found, you will need to use a special abatement service to have the substances removed. Check with the Department of Housing and Urban Development for information on lead control and abatement. For asbestos-removal services, go to your favorite search engine and type "asbestos abatement Oceanside," and you should be directed to a variety of abatement companies.

As far as remodeling contractors are concerned, they are literally everywhere. There is even a National Association of the Remodeling Industry. You can find all sorts of useful information on picking a contractor at its web site.

I always try to find a contractor first by word of mouth. Then I ask for at least five references (of jobs they have done) and check them out. I sometimes even go to a former customer's home to see the work the contractor has done and get a sense of how good he or she is. I also ask the former clients if they would use the contractor again. If they say, "No!," you shouldn't, either.

-- Mr. Irwin has more than 25 years' experience as a Los Angeles-area real-estate broker. He is the author of more than two dozen books about real estate and is recognized as one of the most knowledgeable writers in the real-estate field. Mr. Irwin's most recent book is "Tips and Traps When Renovating Your Home," (McGraw-Hill, 2000).

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