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Hiring a Licensed Contractor Why and How

Having work done on your home or place of business can be very stressful, but hiring a licensed contractorcan keep those headaches or delays to a minimum. A contractors license shows that a worker has enoughexperience and knowledge in his or her field to pass a qualifying exam. In addition to the license for generalcontractors, a worker can be licensed for many trades, including drywall, electrical and refrigeration. If youcan think of a job on a building site, there is probably a license for it!

The Benefits of Hiring a Licensed Contractor

Hiring a licensed contractor protects you in several ways. As mentioned previously, it ensures that the workeryou hire has a certain level of experience and competency in a specific field. Hiring a non-licensed workerdoes not give you this same guarantee.

Many states require that contractors show proof of insurance as part of qualifying for the license. This servesas vital safeguard for you and the contractor if there is an accident on the job. If a worker is injured, or thereis property damage, you may be liable if the contractor is not licensed.

Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that work is not performed as promised ? maybe the contractor stopsshowing up, or the work is done badly or wrong. If you have hired a contractor that is not licensed, you mayhave no legal recourse. If the contractor is properly licensed, you can file a complaint and have a betterchance of recovering your money.

If a building permit is necessary for your project, you definitely want to employ someone who is licensed.Permits can be delayed or denied if a contractor does not have the proper credentials. Avoid this possibleproblem by insisting that everyone is licensed.

Tips for Finding a Licensed Contractor

In most states, any contractor who advertises in any way including fliers, the phone book, business cards, oreven a sign on the back of a truck is required to display his or her contractors license number in the ad.Don?t be fooled by ads that just say something like ?Licensed and bonded?; make sure that there is anactual license number. Most contractors carry a pocket license; ask to see it and a personal ID.

Once you?ve found the license number, you should check that it is still active. Your state should have aphone number you can call, or a website where you can check the status of a license. If a license is inactiveor suspended, find someone else!

Make sure that you verify a prospective contractor?s liability insurance. Ask for the insurance company andphone number. If the contractor has people working with or under him, you should check to make sure thathe has the appropriate workers? compensation insurance as well.

Don?t be afraid to ask around! You may have friends or family members who have recently hired acontractor; they can tell you if they had a positive or negative experience. In addition, any potentialcontractor should be able to supply you with names and numbers of suppliers, previous customers, orsubcontractors.

Hiring a non-licensed contractor can leave you open for insurance and legal problems. Anyone you hire towork on your home or business should have a contractors license ? for their protection and yours.

Document Tags: contractors license, general contractor, contractors exam