Hiring Licensed VS. Unlicensed Contractors

LICENSED VS. UNLICENSED 1 contractors contractors WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? Any contractor can smile, shake your hand, acquire building materials and make modifications to your home. While they might look exactly the same, there are critical differences between a licensed and unlicensed contractor--and recognizing these differences can save you significant stress, time, money and legal hassle. Unregistered and unlicensed, insufficient or Registered and licensed with the state, bonded and insured – to protect both themselves and you nonexistent bonds and/or uninsured Has passed extensive licensing requirements: including classes, quizzes and verifiable work experience May have little or no construction education or experience Publicly listed with business phone, Unlisted – no phone number, address and license number address or license number available May provide references. or may not have any Readily provides references Obtains own building permits Cannot acquire building permits Provides a reasonable and thorough bid and asks for a modest down payment May give an unusually low bid and/or ask for a huge down payment – even the entire price of the project Accepts checks and other trackable forms of payment May ask for cash payment or not accept checks BEWARE: It's illegal in California, Nevada and all states requiring licensing to hire an unlicensed contractor - yes, you can get in trouble for it. Licenses from different states don't count – contractors must be licensed in all states in which they do business. TIPS FOR HIRING A CONTRACTOR 2$: Ask friends and family to recommend someone Don't sign anything until you're completely confident in the terms Keep records of all Don't make the final payment until you feel the project is complete payments Ask for ID and pocket Inquire with local building departments/associations, fraud centers and the Better Business license Bureau for professional advice A contractor's license number must be on their business card, bids and contracts-go to your state licensing board website to check that the number is valid Get references from the contractor when receiving a bid ... Don't pay more then 1/3 down and never pay in cash Get more than one written bid-and be sure they are equal comparisons of specifications and scope Schedule payments at various stages of completion, so you aren't prepaying for work that might not be done correctly Don't just take the lowest bid Ensure your contractor has insurance-and workers' compensation insurance if they employ anyone A low bid may be a mistake or a quote on less than the full scope of the project Accepting an abnormally low bid could lead to trouble later They're required to have insurance; without it you could be stuck with the bill if someone is injured on the job-and even be legitimately sued Check on your contractor's bonds: CA contractors must have license bonds of at least $12,500, which are applied to all their jobs-not just yours NV contractors may have bonds anywhere from $1,000 to $500,000-the State Contractor's Board determines the value for each individual contractor SOURCES http://www.nvcontractorsboard.com/pdfs/Brochures/Hire_Contractor_KD_8_8_11.pdf http://abcnews.go.com/Business/CreativeConsumer/story?id%32624448#.T-SssrVDxl8 http://www.cslb.ca.gov/Consumers/HireAContractor/Finding TheRightContractor.asp http://www.cslb.ca.gov/Resources/GuidesAndPamphlets/TenTips.pdf http://www.nvcontractorsboard.com/bonds.html http://abcnews.go.com/Business/CreativeConsumer/story?id32624448#.T-SssrVDx18 AC PRO