“He’s a neighbor. It’s a small neighborhood.
I don’t want to make waves,
I have to live here…”
This is what we heard from our newest customer, when we met to discuss what’s needed to fix all the low quality and unfinished work in her home caused by the hiring of an unlicensed contractor.
Although he claimed to be working under his father’s license when she hired him, his father claims he had no knowledge of the situation, and refuses to accept any responsibility for fixing the problems caused by his son.
At this point if she chooses to pursue action, her only recourse is in court, since the “contractor” was unlicensed.
To add insult to injury, since he was also uninsured, if he had gotten hurt on her property she would also have been responsible for his medical costs…
The Contractor’s State License Board has numerous resources on their website at www.cslb.ca.gov that help homeowners make informed decisions about hiring contractors.
In addition, we are offering a free. immediately downloadable Consumer Awareness Guide on our website at www.uniquitybuilders.com, and on this blog “How to Avoid Remodeling Nightmares and Hire the Best Contractor for Your Project”.
Do your friends and neighbors a favor, and help us stamp out remodeling fraud and misrepresentation, by spreading the word about these free resources.
Our top three tips on how to avoid remodeling nightmares are:
1. Hire only state-licensed contractors. Be sure and check to make sure they are licensed! That’s the only way you will have any recourse if work on your home doesn’t meet your expectations. Also, request information on their insurance carriers.
2. Get three references from each contractor from whom you request estimates—and call them! Ask to see past work in the area, if possible.
3. After you’ve chosen a contractor, never pay more than 10% down, or $1,000, whichever is less. Never pay in cash, and don’t let payments get ahead of the work that has been completed.
For more tips be sure and download our Consumer Awareness Guide from the link in the right sidebar of this blog.
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