In addition to the obvious, here are some practical reasons to follow this advice:
LICENSES:
1. Getting a contractor's license is not difficult for someone who knows what they are doing. Think of it as a hurdle they have to pass to be able to work on your home. Your local government makes them pass a test, checks their financial stability and generally forces them to go through enough red tape that you can rest assured that they are a legitimate business.
2. Most local governments provide an insurance fund for homeowners who use licensed contractors. That's right! If something does go wrong, most licensing agencies maintain a fund to reimburse you for your losses up to a pre-determined amount. It's like having free insurance.
3. A license number provides a consistent identification mark to research your contractor's history. Sometimes, you may be dealing with John, who works for "Floors R Us," which is owned by "Conglomco Industries." Who's ultimately responsible for holding up John's end of the contract? Well, the license number will point you directly to who you need to deal with.
4. There's just no reason not to. If someone has a sad story about not being able to get a license, you shouldn't hire them... it's that easy. When you buy steaks to grill, do you go to a grocery store and look for the USDA stamp or do you just walk down the street and buy them from some guy in a truck?
PERMITS:
1. Would you prefer to have a 3rd party look at the work you're paying for and give their expert opinion about whether it's done properly, or would you rather just guess and hope it's correct? Well, with a permit, you don't have to guess. Make sure your final payment is contingent on an approved final inspection by the local permit authority, and you are covered.
2. Would you rather stay home all day and measure footer holes to make sure they are the right depth or would you like a professional to come have a look and issue his or her approval? How about testing your knowledge of carpentry and structural engineering? If this is you, I know a good way you could save money on dentist bills... do it yourself!
3. Here's a good analogy: Someone sells you a diamond ring. They put it in a box and hand it to you in exchange for your money. They only thing is, you are not allowed to open the box to make sure the diamond is in there. Now imagine the same scenerio except this time, your local policeman gets to look in the box before you hand over your money in order to confirm the diamond's presence. Which one sounds better to you?
Remember, it costs a contractor a little extra time & money to wait in line at the permit office and pull your permit. It also can cost him payroll money to have his guys standing around waiting for an inspector to arrive before moving on to the next stage of construction. You should keep this in mind when choosing a contractor. You could save a tiny percent by going with someone who doesn't want to pull a permit, but you would only be hurting yourself in the long run.
Not all home improvement projects require a permit, but these days most do. Take 5 minutes and call your local permit office and simply ask if your project falls under their guidelines for needing a permit.
"That all sounds great, Michael, but why doesn't ProjectTurtle.com require all contractors to have licenses?"
That's a great question. The answer is that it would just be an incredibly daunting task for us to verify that information. There are thousands of counties & towns in the United States, each with slightly different policies and procedures. In addition, we want to stress that it is the homeowner's responsibility to verify everything themselves. Just like any responsible contractor will have a license, any responsible homeowner will take 5 minutes to verify it!
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