Introduction
When you want to pick a contractor professional for a repair project on your home, you need to look beyond the price. When dealing with and considering bids from contractors with whom you have had no prior experience, it will pay you dividends to spend a little time and check out the contractor you are considering. In previous tutorials I've told you How to Select a Home Repair Contractor and How to Get Contractor Bids, but in this tutorial I'd like to expose you to some tips from ServiceMagic on how to go another level in pre-screening any contractor that may work on your home.
Dave Lupberger with ServiceMagic.com and ScreenAPro.com has come up with a great ten-point checklist of things to pre-screen when considering a contractor. ServiceMagic.com is the nation's leading organization for connecting homeowners with certified, pre-screened contractors and providing a place for consumers to check out the background of their contractor before signing up for work. In this tutorial, we'll review the ten points recommended and performed by ServiceMagic for pre-screening a contractor.
Point One: Verifying the Trade License
Check to see if the business carries the appropriate state-level license.
- People generally hire contractors automatically trusting that they have spent years perfecting their trade and are licensed, but who is to know when a trade license is expired or has been revoked? Without a valid trade license you open yourself up to a number of risks, including any damages caused by their work not being covered by your homeowners insurance, etc.
