Arranging repairs for a parent who lives three states away.

Most of the people who call us are not in Connecticut. They are daughters and sons in Ohio, Florida and California, trying to fix a house they cannot walk through themselves. This is how to do that without being taken advantage of — from either side.

You cannot describe a job you have not seen. What you can do is describe what your parent says, and let the person on the other end ask better questions than you would. A good handyman will spend ten minutes asking “does it stick at the top or the bottom” before quoting anything. If they quote immediately, with no questions, that tells you something.

“Send me pictures” gets you three blurry ones. Ask for this instead:

• Before and after of the same spot, from the same angle.
• The specific thing that was broken, close up — not a wide shot of the room.
• The wall behind the fix, if anything was mounted. This shows whether they hit a stud.
• The finished space tidied, so you know it was cleaned up.

This is the part that causes family friction. Be explicit with everyone before the visit:

• Who is the point of contact for the handyman?
• Who can approve extra work, and up to what dollar amount?
• Does your parent want to be involved in decisions, or would they rather you handle it?

Worth saying out loud: the person doing the work needs to hear from your parent that you are authorized to make decisions, not the other way round. It avoids the awkward moment where they are standing in the kitchen with two people telling them different things.

Insist on a flat written quote before work starts, sent by email or text so there is a record. Pay after the walkthrough, not before. Be cautious of anyone who wants a deposit by transfer before they have seen the job — that is how those scams start, regardless of who is asking. We never ask for a deposit.

If you want to see the space without flying out, ask for a short video call while the handyman is on site. A two-minute walk around a bathroom tells you more than a paragraph of description, and it takes almost no extra effort.

A typical out-of-state visit: you call and describe what your mother mentioned. We talk it through, and you approve a flat quote by text. The visit happens, your mother gets everything explained to her directly, and you get photos before payment. If family lives locally, they get the same photos.

It is not the same as being there, but it removes most of the guesswork. Our seniors and caregivers page explains how these visits work, and the home safety visit is the usual starting point.