What to Look For When Hiring a Contractor

With so many different contractors offering up their services on the open market today, it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between the different ones. They all say the right things and they all sound pretty good in the interview. How does a business owner decide which plumber or electrician to use, then? There are certain things that you must look for in a contractor that will be much more telling than anything they will say in an interview.


You must always ask to see any and all certificates. It might sound nice to hear a contractor say that he or she has a license from a certain state, but you must demand proof. Any reputable contractor will have their information readily available and won’t have any problem showing you the certification certificates that are granted to all licensed contractors. In addition to that, you will want to see verification that there haven’t been any issues in the last several years in order to confirm the legitimacy of the contractor.


Does the contractor have all of the appropriate insurance coverage? There are a few different levels of insurance coverage. Any contractor that you hire should have general liability coverage in order to protect against an accident that causes bodily harm. If you are able to find a good contractor with workman’s compensation insurance to go along with that, then you should certainly consider hiring that person. Not only will this eliminate more risk for you, but it will also help you identify the good contractors from the bad.


Where does the contractor conduct business? All people are different in their preferences, so you shouldn’t make any blanket assumptions about a contractor because of his office situation. Be aware that most legitimate contractors will have an actual business office and address at which they work. A home office is sometimes alright, but it doesn’t bring the same measure of reliability that an actual office does. Beware of any contractor who has no office. This can be a potential red flag that should indicate a bit of sketchiness for that business. If they just have cell phone communication and don’t offer any sort of concrete land line, then consider looking elsewhere.


There are plenty of good contractors out there if you take a while to look. When choosing the right one, don’t believe everything that you hear. Make sure that the contractor has the ability and willingness to prove their legitimacy. When you do this, you will have a much better chance of hiring a reliable person