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soptvE i = T EA FIRST CHOICE I VOL. 2 No.49 - FIRST CHOICE REAL ESTATE - TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1991 & CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Summer a good time to renovate Summer is the best time of year for renovation pro- jects and many homeowners prefer to hire contractors to do the work. But, before consumers put their feet up and let a professional start the job, they should make sure all details have been ham- mered out in a contract, say experts with Ontario's Con- sumer Ministry. "The written agreement should contain all the infor- mation necessary for the buyer and contractor to know what the end result will be," says Marilyn Gurevsky of the ministry's Consumer Services Bureau. "It's also important for the contract to state clearly who'll be responsible for all the steps along the way." The following items should be included in renovation contracts. 1. In addition to the names and addresses of both the homeowner and contractor, the name of any person responsible for day- to-day work should be listed. 2. The description of the work to be done must be detailed and complete. Drawings and specifica- tions should be attached as part of the contract. For ex- ample, if a kitchen counter is to be custom-made, dimensions and materials should be clearly spelled out to avoid misunderstanding by the supplier or buyer. 3. If householders plan to do some of the work themselves, it should be clearly understood how much of the labor or materials isn't the contrac- tor's responsibility -- an assurance any competent renovator will want in writing. 4. To be able to schedule the work, the con- tractor and homeowner must decide who is respon- sible for obtaining the need- ed municipal permits. Building, heating, hydro, plumbing and landscaping permits are the documents most often required for home-renovation jobs. 5. Ontario's Consumer Services bureaus receive many complaints about renovation work that takes much longer than customers expect. In addi- tion to start-up and comple- tion dates, special attention should be paid to the substantial performance (Turn to page 3) -- CENTURY 21 SUCCESS INC. Lindsay Office 1-705-324-8533 LARRY KOZAK Century PORT PERRY Two storey, very tastefully decorated, in town, finished basement with woodstove, inground SCUGOG ISLAND One acre with lots of trees, small barn and a home that's just immaculate on a quiet pool, lots of decking, fenced yard. Asking $162,500 country road. Listed at $159,900. READ EVERY WEEK BY OVER 20,000 PEOPLE