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Contractors up to date on Legal Stuff
So, you’ve finally decided on a contractor that you’d like to hire. You’ve signed on the dotted line, put down a 10% deposit, and set up a date for the work to get completed. Everything couldn’t be more perfect, WRONG!
Most homeowners don’t check to see if the contractor they’ve just hired is all up to date on their licensing. Most times contractors don’t do this type of thing out of spite, but just because they too are busy and overlook this until they “get around to it.”
Oftentimes homeowners don’t check these types of things out because of different reasons. They may feel that if the contractor is giving them an estimate then why doubt them on their certification. Maybe it’s that the contractor is telling them that they’re licensed but in reality they are really not. Or it could be that you (homeowner) doesn’t really care and trust the contractor to just get the job done without any fuss.
If proper preemptive measures aren’t taken then homeowners are liable for anything that would go wrong on the job site. If not properly licensed things that could go terribly wrong. Let’s take the example of a not fully licensed contractor working on your house and gets hurt on site. Worst case scenario they sue you for a lot of money in which you have to sell your house to cover the settlement expenses. Best case, you still have the burden of thinking about the worst case, however they just settle for some extra cash to cover the medical expenses, but you still have to go find another contractor to finish the job. But at the very least you cross your fingers and hope that not anything goes wrong so that you may go on with your life. All of these scenarios are very realistic and have happened before in some shape, way, or fashion.
What should you do about it and how should prevent hiring a contractor not up to date on their licensing. The easiest is to do a few minutes of research on what the state requires and then compare it to what they have on file. Basically, the way this is completed is to go to the states licensing board website check, check to see what’s required to do business as a contractor in the field they are licensed in, and then check the license number on the site to see if it corresponds with what’s required. A small problem with this might be that the information is outdated. One way to improve the validity of the contractor in question would to ask to see copies of licenses and certifications when they come to give you an estimate. It’s not rude to ask for documentation, it just shows that you are educated enough to make a smart move in finding the right contractor for the job.
