advocate
It’s NOT Either/Or — It’s BOTH!
What is a Homeowner Advocate? Many contractors conclude that an advocate always take the homeowners’ side against them, which is not true. Remodeling is a team effort. If everyone remembers this, and takes their individual responsibility seriously, there’s no need for anyone to take sides. In 28 years, there have been only five times where a dispute arose, clear evidence that the contractor had done something very wrong:
- Not providing products and services specified in the approved plans and their agreement without communication.
- Changing the scope of the project without communication.
- Not providing a written change order with additional charges explained in full before extra work begins.
- Selling products at an inflated price because “warranty service” is provided, without specifying in writing exactly what is included and excluded.
- Comingling funds, i.e., using proceeds of the current project to pay for products and/or services for a previous project.

