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" You suddenly have a spewing toilet, a major termite infestation or water leaking through your wall. No one you know has the expertise to help, so you\u2026do what? Instead of taking your chances on the phone book\u2014and potentially spending a ton of unnecessary money\u2014read on to learn how to prepare yourself, so that you&amp;#039;ll know just whom to call when you need to make it all better.   Finding the Right Pro    Before you begin, know that not all repair companies are created equal. Pretty much anyone can place an &amp;quot;AA Handyman&amp;quot; listing in the phone book; due to the widely varying licensing and accreditation requirements from state to state, having a license doesn&amp;#039;t necessarily indicate skill. What you need is a list of trusted professionals at your fingertips: referrals from people you trust who have worked with the contractor repeatedly. See the box at right to get the best recommendations in town.   Keeping a List    It&amp;#039;s best to have on hand a list of two or three of each sort of professional. That way, if you need to gather estimates, you&amp;#039;ll know whom to call. Also, contractors often take on multi-day jobs and are unavailable at your moment of need. Example: I had a plumbing leak over the Christmas holiday, and had to call four plumbers before finding someone available. Prepare for the worst. Even if you have only one tree in your yard, it could fall, so find tree guys as well as the following specialists: \u2022 Appliance installer/repair-person \u2022 Electrician \u2022 Exterminator \u2022 General contractor (carpentry, etc.) \u2022 Handyman \u2022 Heating/cooling (furnace) technician \u2022 Landscaper \u2022 Locksmith \u2022 Painter \u2022 Plumber \u2022 Roofer or exterior specialist \u2022 Sewer contractor    When You Need a Recommendation, Ask...   Who  Why The Key Question   Your famously fussy neighbor  She always demands the best. Anyone she recommends likely does a highquality, affordable job. &amp;quot;Which contractors have you used and liked?&amp;quot;   A contractor that you&amp;#039;ve used and liked  Repair people tend to know each other, and have often worked together on big projects. Thus, the electrician probably knows a good plumber. &amp;quot;Who do you use at your home?&amp;quot;   Your real estate agent   Through her job, she interacts with dozens of contractors, so she knows who&amp;#039;s good and who&amp;#039;s not. &amp;quot;Who do you like? Who should I avoid?&amp;quot;   AngiesList.com  OK, it&amp;#039;s not a person per se, but the $5-a-month service (higher in some areas) gives you access to ratings and reviews of thousands of local contractors\u2014and all the reviews are by real, not-anonymous clients. Search the database for a contractor someone else referred you to. Check his ratings, type of work, prices and level of professionalism. (Tip: Avoid businesses with no street address. Many scam artists, particularly bogus locksmiths, list PO boxes only.)   Uh-Oh\u2026It&amp;#039;s Broken!    First off, is it an emergency? If your problem involves any of the following, act accordingly:   1. Smoke.  Leave your home and call 911. It doesn&amp;#039;t matter if the smoke is from an appliance, outlet or something bigger\u2014make the call!   2. Water leaking near electrical outlets. Turn off the house&amp;#039;s main power shutoff (usually located where the circuit breakers are or under the electric meter outside) and the main water shutoff (it&amp;#039;s usually where the water meter is), which will end the immediate danger. (If you know where the water is coming from, you can turn off the water supply only to that area of the house.) Then call the plumber. And call the electrician if water got into the outlets.   3. Gas.  Leave your home and call the fire department and the gas company. Damage to a gas line inside your home or outside (common when cars roll into gas meters) is also grounds for leaving and calling 911. You&amp;#039;re not overreacting: Gas can result in sudden explosions and fires, and a police officer or fire personnel will come right over.   4. Flickering lights. If power is fluctuating in one area of the house, flip off the breaker or unscrew the fuse for that area, and call the electrician and your power company.   5. Power loss. Call the power company. Loss of power to the whole house usually indicates an outside utility problem. If it&amp;#039;s not an emergency but you&amp;#039;re still not sure which professional handles your problem, consider asking a handy friend or neighbor to take a look to narrow down whom to call. If you have existing relationships with contractors, you can also call them and ask. Having a general picture of what broke and why makes it easier to explain what you need when you call a pro. Once you&amp;#039;re on the phone, you&amp;#039;ll need to explain:   \u2022 What is broken \u2022 Why it is broken (&amp;quot;I stepped on it,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s a crack in it,&amp;quot; etc.) \u2022 What repair you think needs to be made \u2022 What you would like the repairperson to do (which, if it&amp;#039;s not an emergency, is give an estimate) \u2022 Any history of problems involving the same item. (This last point gives relevant information and is code for &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve been through this before, I understand what&amp;#039;s going on and I have a rough idea of how much this should cost.&amp;quot;)   On the phone, mention who referred you\u2014a contractor will often give better treatment to referrals than to people who call in a panic out of the blue\u2014and be as nice as possible, since you need help immediately. You also want to make sure that the repairperson is both insured (which means that if he injures himself on the job, you&amp;#039;re not responsible) and bonded (meaning that if he makes the repair improperly, his company has to fix it). Some states also require contractors and repairmen to be licensed. Ask to see proof of all in person.   All About Estimates    For common, small jobs, many contractors will give a rough estimate over the phone. If you suspect that you&amp;#039;re in for a major repair, call multiple contractors and ask each of them to come over and give an estimate. You always want an estimate in writing, on some form of official company paper. This way, if you&amp;#039;re charged an egregious amount, you have written proof that the agreed-upon price was lower. Most important: Save the estimate\u2014you&amp;#039;ll need it so you can compare it to the final bill. An estimate should include:   \u2022 What is being fixed \u2022 Hourly labor rate \u2022 Approximate time frame of the repair \u2022 Estimated costs of tools, products and materials \u2022 Terms of payment   Once you&amp;#039;re comfortable with the price, ask for a contract if the job exceeds about $250. It should include material costs, permits or licensing, describe how a change in the project will be addressed, and authorize the contractor to do the work. Photo: Thinkstock    What to Expect from an Estimate   Who  Pricing What to Look For   Electrician  Flat fee or hourly A very detailed, typed estimate, letting you know exactly what they plan to install. Electrician estimates are easy to compare to each other, because they list the prices and details of the circuits and panels that they plan to install or repair (as opposed to a plumber, who will say &amp;quot;replace toilet&amp;quot;). It&amp;#039;s OK to get three or more, and then call back and ask questions.   Plumber Typically hourly If a basic repair turns out to be more complicated than planned, talk to the plumber as soon as that&amp;#039;s apparent and negotiate. Say, &amp;quot;I know this is taking you a while, but I can&amp;#039;t spend $500 on my shower leak. Can we set a price now?&amp;quot;   Heating/cooling technician  Flat fee or hourly  The furnace, air conditioning and water heating are the most complex systems in your home, and repair mistakes are very expensive to fix, so choose wisely. Opt for an experienced contractor and make sure you have multiple referrals.   General Contractor  Hourly  Check references, ask for examples of their work and be sure to ask for a written estimate, including timing and materials. If all looks good, ask for a contract, then follow along carefully as the project ensues.   Exterminator Service Agreement The service agreement will indicate how the exterminator will treat a pest problem. They will honor the terms of the agreement, whether it takes days or weeks to fix what&amp;#039;s wrong. Get several estimates and compare.   Ding-Dong, the Repairperson&amp;#039;s Here    Hooray, the repairperson has arrived. His or her presence is your opportunity to learn how to perform repairs yourself, so don&amp;#039;t leave the room and make phone calls for an hour. Instead, stay put, watch what the repairperson is doing and feel free to ask about it. By watching carefully, you will not only educate yourself, but you&amp;#039;ll also be sure that the repairperson is being diligent. Good questions to ask:   \u2022 &amp;quot;How does that work? How&amp;#039;s it powered?&amp;quot; \u2022 &amp;quot;What&amp;#039;s that knob/pipe/control and what does it do?&amp;quot; \u2022 &amp;quot;Should I be performing any maintenance on that?&amp;quot; \u2022 &amp;quot;What should I do if it breaks again?&amp;quot; \u2022 &amp;quot;How do I turn off the electrical [or gas] lines that power that?&amp;quot; \u2022 &amp;quot;How can I keep this problem from happening again?&amp;quot;   If a job becomes more complicated than planned mid-repair and the contractor has given you an estimate, he should show you the complications and ask what you&amp;#039;d like to do. Ask how the change affects the price, and be sure to get a revised estimate.    Fix-It Etiquette   While 99 percent of repair professionals are good people, keep in mind that you are letting a complete stranger into your house. What to offer them and what they can use in your home depends on whether your contractor is there to give an estimate (rarely more than 40 minutes) or to do a repair. Your cheat sheet:   Subject  Here for an Estimate Here for a Repair   Shoes Yes, you can politely ask him to remove his shoes. The contractor gets to keep his or her shoes on. You can, however, politely ask that he stamp them off well and avoid the nice carpets.   A drink It&amp;#039;s always polite to offer, especially if it&amp;#039;s hot or cold out. Offer water, tea or coffee.   Bathroom No need to offer. Point out the one you&amp;#039;d prefer him to use, and pull up any bath mats you don&amp;#039;t want muddied.   Kitchen No need to offer. If a contractor will be there through lunchtime, it&amp;#039;s polite to offer your microwave and put out any utensils you&amp;#039;d like him to use.   Valuables When in doubt, shut doors to any rooms holding valuables, or have the contractor enter through a side door. Remember\u2014you&amp;#039;re basically giving a tour of your home. Hide away any items that you&amp;#039;re worried might disappear. Multiple workers may have key access to your house, so rather than risking it, slip valuables in drawers.   Access You should let him in, and be there during the entire visit. Be home if you can; if not, try to avoid giving out your home key. If you must leave, let the contractors in, and ask them to lock themselves out on the way out.   Arianne Cohen is a contributing editor to Woman&amp;#039;s Day. This piece is adapted from her newly reissued book Help, It&amp;#039;s Broken!: A Fix-It Bible for the Repair-Impaired, Filipacchi Publishing, $14.99. Available April 2011 at Amazon.com and in bookstores.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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