Painting, in the interior or exterior, is undoubtedly one of the easiest as well as cheapest ways to update your New York home. It serves as an ideal task to undertake whether you are sprucing your home up for a sale or just wants to add a splash of cool change and heighten the quality of everyday living for the family. Though easy, it does not come risk-free. To avoid the pitfalls, this article lays out things you need to know about home painting ideal whether you are in Manhattan, Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn or Staten Island.

A quick project with a great impact, home painting is among the most popular improvements that many homeowners do themselves. But unfortunately, not all end up with results to envy. Some might need to do a back job immediately or issues might arise some days or weeks after the project has been finished. Then they wonder, “How did that guy on the Internet make it look so easy?” The answer: he is an expert on what he is doing and he has been doing this for a living.

Looks can truly be deceiving, and this cliché goes well with home improvements. Painting is not merely applying paint to the walls. The job involves thorough preparation of the walls and putting the color on is just a small part of the project. And if you decide to be more stylish, various techniques and methods will be used. When deliberating on going DIY versus hiring a qualified painter, never underestimate what the project requires. Do you have the knowledge, right skills and experience to do the job right the first time?

As was said, painting is the one of the cheapest home improvements there is. Would stretching that budget a bit to accommodate labor costs really hurt? Think about the money you’d have to spend on quality rollers, brushes and other supplies. Add the time and effort you would have to allot to research, buy supplies, try to learn things, finish the project up and clean all the mess. These and a lot more are the real costs of the project. Now, would you rather get a high quality job done in the most timely and efficient manner courtesy of a hired painter, or would you rather pinch those dollars and do all the work all the while praying that the results would be satisfactory?

To get the most value for your hard-earned money, you also have to do your part and go through the contractor selection carefully. Hire a painter with the right set of qualifications to do the home painting for you. Check for membership standing and any unresolved issues reflected at your local Better Business Bureau. Know how long the painter has been in the business and take the time to visit references to see how well the painted walls stood the test of time and how satisfied the homeowners were. Choose a painter with a good reputation to back up the quality of painting work he delivers and the proper professional ethics that he adheres to.

Home remodeling is projected to increase over the next 3-5 years according to the Center for Joint Studies at Harvard University. The increase is due in large part to the purchase of foreclosed properties and the need to make improvements. Another factor are the “Baby Boomers” who are choosing to age in place and need to make modifications including creating surroundings that are more like a retreat.

With construction being in a downward turn the last 3 years some people believe that contractors are hungry for work and that now there are deals to be made and discounts to be had. Though it’s true that some materials are lower in cost due to supply and demand, it is a fallacy to believe that contractors are going to be drastically cutting costs to get your business. In fact, this is where if a deal is too good to be true, watch out; you’re being blind-sided!

Unethical contractors will use this idea of “great deals to be had” against uninformed and unsuspecting homeowners who are typically interested only on the bottom line: how much is it going to cost me? They are betting that you will know little about a well written Scope of Work and Specification Sheet that contains the details of just what it is you’re getting for your money. The risk of not knowing this is what will make that “great deal” turn into a rapid series of cost overruns in the form of Change Orders.

So many homeowners find themselves in this very position and invariably become confused and frustrated. They thought everything was in their contract and Scope of Work only to find out too late that it was not clearly spelled out and their agreement is riddled with vague references that do not support their arguments. And when they file a complaint or hire an attorney they quickly learn that what they have is a contract, Spec Sheet and Scope of Work summary so sloppy, so devoid of specifics that unless the work is substandard – and often it is – they’re better off letting the contractor complete the project as is.

Not what anyone wants to hear when your money is quickly being depleted in the hopes of achieving a newly renovated home you had envisioned. Instead you’re going to have to deal with getting less than you had planned on and wanting to get it over with and the contractor out of your life. A hard lesson learned but one that could have been easily avoided with some thoughtful planning and education.

These kinds of complaints have long plagued the construction industry that has more than it’s share of unscrupulous contractors. It is why, according to consumer organizations, home improvement typically makes their lists as one of the top complaints made for unscrupulous business practices, customer dissatisfaction and fraud.

But if you’re a homeowner looking to do some renovations there is a way to avoid becoming a sorry statistic. All you have to do is get informed, get educated on all the pre-renovation homework that will help you understand just what the risks and realities are, what you need to do to protect yourself, how to be in control of your money and project no matter what transpires. Understanding the importance of a thoroughly written specifications sheet, scope of work and why having proposals that are identical in content makes for an easier comparison of bids. And understanding too, those referrals reveal little and background checks are a must.

Yes, it does take some work but it’s actually an enlightening study on what the contractor laws are, what documents you need to be collecting and why you need to put your own rules into place for greater protection.

But once you’ve done all the work you’ll understand why so many folks get into trouble with their remodeling projects and how they came to choose their contractor so poorly. And you will be thanking your lucky stars that you’re not going to be one of them.