In a survey we conducted last year, we found that nearly 80% of respondents reported that “an active license” was “very important” to determining whether or not they would hire a contractor.
What has your experience been when it comes to your license. Do you find that your prospective clients typically check on your license before hiring you?
Some do, most don’t even check. However it is much easier to get the down deposit from a homeowner when they know you are a legit and licensed business.
Put it this way, you may get 10 home owners who don’t check and don’t care. But the cost of losing that one home owner who does care is not worth the few hours and 350 bucks it costs to get licensed.
I would be very curious about your demographic of people chosen for the survey, were they random? Volunteers? People who use this site? - Because as a statistics major I can tell that that number is high relative to reality. If it is a survey from this site, imagine that this site is a small percentage of the home owner population, plus people here are definitely more concerned the your avarage Jack and Jill.
Also, when asked “is it important for you to have your contractor to be licensed” it’s a no brainer people will say yes. What are they going to say, no- I dont care? It’s a whole other story for those same people to actually check.
Depending on your state, there may be severe penalties for operating without a license. According to the CFA:
For three months in the spring of 2011, several investigators from the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection used an empty house in Waterford and, posing as homeowners, contacted contractors who were suspected of working in the state without the required registrations and invited them to bid on roofing, carpentry, painting, and other types of work. The sting netted 44 home contractors and salespersons from as far away as Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Each was required to register with the agency and pay a civil penalty. Connecticut also has criminal penalties for failure to register as a home improvement contractor or salesperson, though none were imposed in these cases.
Do potential clients care about the status of your license? - Home improvement answers from the experts
Do potential clients care about the status of your license? - Home improvement answers from the experts
Clients should care about a contractor who has or doesnt have an active license in the correct state. Here in NJ there can be significant fines for doing business without having the proper documentation. Clients who dont check license and even insurance documents from the “joes contracting” business are sometimes the ones who take a deposit and never come back to do the job. And therefor the client cant do a thing because theres no paper trail. I’v had a few clients who have had this happen to them. Most client dont check or even ask for the documentation and few will ask. People need to use there head a little more so contractors dont steal from you. Another instance was before i sided my house and did a bunch of renovations to it, these two guys were walking the neighborhood in “suit and tie” with a folder! They came up to me not knowing i was a contractor and wanted to sell me a job to side the house, new windows and such. Me knowing the business i had asked for business name and license certificate, and i assumed right they had nothing but a few pictures of some kind of work in the elaborate folder and nothing more. So i told them i was a contractor and they quickly left my area of the neighborhood. who knows times are tough i get that and people are trying to do what they gotta do i dont blame them. but there are too many people out there who try stealing your money by seeling ou a service from a business that doesnt even exist. not to get even further off topic, but when hurricane sandy came through there was many many instances of people posing as contractors and even FEMA! These people knew that there was easy money to be made and they stole alot of peoples money with there non-existing business. If you care about your money which i hope you do, check the proper documents this way “professional” businesses do the service and make money the real way not by posing and scamming. Sorry for getting a little off topic but everything i stated was for people to understand real life circumstances and make people aware of what could possibly happen to you.
In my experience I have to agree with a similar post on top, as in that people most general either already know that you are licensed and therefore don’t bother asking again for your license.
By the time they call you or contact you they are already aware of your license, be it being posted on your website (like mine) and/or being posted on other websites, like Houzz.com or Manta.com or Builderspro.com, or this one.
They seldom therefore ask me for mine, I would say 90% doesn't even bother to check, or ask or verify, any information, or sometimes not even my businesscard.
In Florida, where it is so strict with licensing in order to get it, you figure by now, everybody would be asking this right from the getgo.
I think it is also a matter of educating the people about this subject, despite all the scams and law-suits and crooks out there, trying to take your hard-earned money.
When I pull up to their residence or the project, I submit my businesscard with all the info already on thereand aks them if they want to see my license, (or I just show it to them) you hope that they would at least ask for this information before they make any decision at all, besides it would validate the builder more,especially when the builder incurred so many expenses, to do the State test, in order to become A CRC,or CBC or CGC, ( just the books alone are $1000.00) then the insurance, workmans-compensation, local bonds, local licenses, renewal of license, annual fees with the state,county and/or local and the list goes on.
Hope this will help a bit
Klaas Hayo Haitsma
President of Dutchy, Inc.
http://dutchy.bizI should hope so. Many do ask if I am licensed. People should do a little more research to find out if the trade they are hiring is qualified to do the project correctly with no worries down the road.
Most homeowners don’t go the extra step to see if you are really licensed and what the classification means in your state. I’ve worked canvass leads for many years. We knocked on their door and in the house within hours doing a presentation. They’ve never heard of the company and they assume you’re licensed. If they ask, I would say, yes, and they were ok. It became part of my presentation to explain more about the different types of license and insurance policies. I want them to know we’re properly insured whether they want to hear it or not. They’ll thank me later.
They certainly should. Choose a Contractor with an active license in Good Standing. Why look for trouble. “A persons past predicts their future.” They don’t revoke or suspend a license without a verified reason. Check before you hire.
Although some do not check usually most will at least ask if you are licensed. Most our clientele insist that we are working with a active license and some clients will ask for proof of insurance and workers comp. Most importantly aside from satisfying your client’s request for proof it is not worth any risk to operate without a active license as there are penalties from which ever state you work in, and inspectors tend to canvass neighborhoods for unlicensed or unpermitted job sites.
In any event most potential client do care about the status, and contractors should make a point to show proof of a license upon a initial meeting with each client.
I would hope so. Their home or business is in ours hands while performing the work,also relying on our honesty and professionalism.It’s piece of mind, knowing that the contractor they are dealing with is properly State licensed,and that the license is in good standing.
In California, we contractors MUST carry our license card,include the CSLB issued license number in all advertising,contractors forms and documentation…which is a good thing and takes the guess work out of at least knowing whether a person is a CSLB contractor. Unlicensed activity is rampant unfortunately,especially on sites like Craigslist,and a lot of home or business owners have been ripped off or deceived, by NOT asking. And I am all for the sting operations to catch the false contractors. As dyer as California’s economy is,I personally think California should severely stiffen the fines, penalties,and also completely wipe out the current allowable unlicensed limit on jobs totaling $500 including materials. Either you are trade licensed…or you’re not…no in between. Then potential clients would know across the board that if your status is unlicensed,you can’t contract.Period.
If the potential client doesn’t ask during a phone call,or meeting at their home,or place of business for an estimate,I break the ice before the call or meeting ends,and assure them I am properly licensed. I have no problem showing my ID and credentials,or reference contacts to assure them.It’s a good way to start off a client/contractor relationship,and establish trust.
Some prospective clients care about licenses, and some don’t. We usually don’t reach agreement with the prospective customers who don’t care about licenses, because they often also don’t care about permits, building codes, and any other considerations of legality. They’re often also not very interested in quality. Whether the clients who care about licenses actually check them independently, I’m not sure. I volunteer my license, bonding, and insurance information very early in most conversations, so that the prospective customer doesn’t need to ask.
Most do not check, but they should. Most homeowners do not do their proper due diligence. Most of the expert witness cases we are involved in could have been prevented if the property owners had done their homework.
Past disciplinary actions are an indication of issues (where there’s smoke, there’s fire).
Most cities check a contractor’s license status when issuing a permit, so at least there is some verification.
Yes. Educated potential clients will absolutely care. In most states, in order to get licensed you must first be insured.
To see a contractor with no license means they are likely uninsured as well and brings into question how long they have been in the business and how reliable they may be down the road in standing behind their work. Someone who plans to be in a prticular field for a living who is good enough to in fact make a living in that field would always be registered, licensed, and insured. An inactive license can be a giant red flag to a customer considering paying you tens of thousands of their hard earned dollars.
Quality clients certainally do!
Clients certainly need to be concerned about licesned contractors for plenty of reasons already listed. So I won’t add to the other fellow contrators posts with redundant info. However, expanding the importance of a Ca license number, one major point is that a CONTRACTOR should also be concerned with opperatinig with a valid license for the following reasons:
Client is not obligated to pay an unlicensed contractor.
Person doing work does not have any lien rights.
Doing faulty work and injuring yourself, employees, or homeowners can ruin a contrator and buisness
Being licensed protects you from court and gains you access and assistnce in arbitration case.
Being a contractor means having integrity in your work and giving your clients your best work.
So while clients should certainly do their homework and do a quick search on the CSLB or at least “ask the question”, the contrators have a vested interst in doing the right thing and by the law as well.
Absolutely! Here in the State of Florida it is illegal to contract work without a license according to Statute 489.127. It is very simple to check if your contractor has an active license by going to www.myfloridalicense.com . Having a contractor with a license who is also bonded and insured protects you as a homeowner.
Yes, in the Chicago area you have to be licensed,bonded and insured in order to pull a permit, I think most homeowners that are doing any major remodeling know this.
They should! Most people do not check, but unless you have something to hide there is no reason for your license or insurance to be out of date or suspended. Homeowners should always check the status of a license to make sure they are dealing with legitimate, reputable contractors. In NJ you need to submit a copy of a valid license with every permit package. That is not to say it has not been suspended during the valid time period. It is always best to check though.
I am not sure how many of our clients actually check the status of our license. I would imagine they would not tell us that info unless they found something negative when searching.