"That's someone that you want to potentially avoid," said Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angi, an online contractor marketplace. "I would rather take someone newer to the industry than someone that has a questionable reputation."
A questionable contractor is "someone who isn't exactly honest with the price, may be overestimating their skills, doesn't do high quality work, or simply doesn't show up for the project," said Jamie Dunaway-Seale, author of the Clever report.
The risk of contractor fraud also increases in the aftermath of a natural disaster, said Loretta Worters, a spokeswoman of the Insurance Information Institute. "A lot of times, these people swoop in, claim they're going to do something for you, and they take your money and leave."
Clever polled 1,000 U.S. homeowners mid-August regarding their choices when it comes to renovations. Generally, homeowners say reputation is the most important factor when hiring a contractor (25%), followed by experience (23%), cost (19%), personal recommendations (13%), availability (11%) and estimated project timeline (10%).
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