How to Find a Trusted Handyman in Your Area

A good handyman can fix a wobbly toilet, replace a porch light, hang a heavy mirror, or patch a hole in the wall in a single afternoon. The hard part is not the work. The hard part is finding a person you can trust to come into your home, do the job at a fair price, and not disappear with a deposit. Older adults are often targeted by smooth-talking strangers who knock on the door and offer to fix something for cash. That kind of stranger is the wrong way to start. The right way takes a little time but pays off for years.

The best source of a trusted handyman is a person you already know. Ask your neighbors, your friends from church, your bowling league, or your hairdresser. People love to share the name of someone who did good work. A handyman with five happy customers on your street will treat you well, because he knows word travels fast. Write down two or three names from these conversations before you call anyone.

The second-best source is a local online tool. Nextdoor is a free app that connects neighbors on your actual street and the nearby blocks. You can post a question like, "Can anyone recommend a handyman who does small repairs?" Within a day, you will often get five to ten replies with phone numbers and short stories. The Better Business Bureau, at bbb.org, lets you search by city for handyman services that have been rated A or B. Angi, formerly Angie's List, also lists handymen with customer reviews, but read the reviews carefully and ignore one or two short praise reviews that look fake.

Never hire someone who knocks on your door without an appointment, especially after a storm. These people are often traveling crews who do shoddy work and leave town. Never pay the full bill in cash before any work is done. A small deposit of ten or twenty percent is normal for materials, but the rest is paid when the job is finished and you are happy. Always get the handyman's full name, phone number, and home address before any money changes hands. Keep all receipts in a folder. A trusted handyman will become one of the most useful contacts in your phone, called on for years.