Why You Should Never Hire an Unlicensed Contractor

As you’re looking for a contractor for office building construction, you know you want to look for commercial contractors with experience. However, you also want to consider commercial contractors with the appropriate licensure, and here’s why:

Might Not Have the Skill and Knowledge

First and foremost, a licensure exam to offer Florida construction services requires that a person has a certain level of knowledge and experience. The person must pass an exam that asks questions related to construction, and the person must pass with a certain score.

If the individual was willing to go through the exam and spend the time studying, it shows that he or she is serious about demonstrating his or her knowledge.

Isn’t Following the Law

In Florida, all residential and commercial contractors must have a license to work on any building. Without the licensure, the person isn’t complying with the law.

Might Not be as Reliable

While it might not be static for everyone, a licensed contractor has proven to be financially responsible before getting their license.

For instance, professionals in commercial construction in Florida undergo a credit check and have their financial stability evaluated. By doing so, it weeds out contractors who are more likely to “rip clients off,” fail to maintain their insurance, etc.

During the exam, the contractor must have their fingerprints scanned for legal purposes.

Can’t Get Insurance

In order to get insurance for a contractor’s license, the person must have the proper licensure, or the insurance company won’t accept their application. Therefore, if you hire an unlicensed contractor, they don’t have insurance. That means if something should happen to them or an associate on the job, they have no insurance to cover the injuries or time off work.

The financial responsibility of legal bills, medical bills, and other expenses will fall on your shoulders. Basically, it would be like they were your employees and your responsibility. Insurance companies usually don’t cover damage from an unlicensed contractor.

Could Experience Problems Down the Road

Initially, the project may be completed and look and function perfectly. However, when you utilize Florida construction services from an unlicensed contractor, problems could arise in the future. You may experience difficulty having the contractor return to repair the issue.

Could Become More Costly

It seems appealing to hire an unlicensed contractor when they offer a rate that’s much cheaper than a licensed contractor. While it might intrigue you to save some cash on the project, you could experience problems in the future. If there’s no guarantee they’ll come back and repair the problem, you could find yourself spending much more than you would on a licensed contractor since you’ll have to pay for the repairs and the fee for the unlicensed contractor.

Difficult to Sue

While it’s possible to experience no problems when you hire an unlicensed contractor, it doesn’t always happen that way. Unfortunately, if there’s any damage done, you might have a hard time getting your money back or suing.

Decrease in Property Value

Some repairs are necessary for function and possibly legal purposes. However, if you decide to perform any upgrades on the building with the thought of increasing your property value in mind, work from an unlicensed contractor won’t help.

If you require any type of permits for the work, you wouldn’t be able to get them with an unlicensed contractor. Therefore, when you go to sell, you’d have to disclose this information, which will harm your property value.

More Liability Issues

Let’s say someone falls or gets hurt in another way, or maybe, the contractor does a sloppy job and it does damage to someone else’s property. Since the contract is unlicensed and without insurance, you’re also responsible for any damage that results. Keep in mind that most insurance providers won’t cover damage done by an unlicensed contractor. Thus, you’d be responsible to pay out of pocket.

While you may have a greater cost initially, it’s always smarter to hire licensed commercial contractors. You have much more risk when you hire an unlicensed person, especially when it comes to your financial obligations. Not to mention, you could harm your property value in the end.

Contact M.H. Williams

For all of your commercial construction needs, contact M.H. Williams Construction Group. We are here to answer any questions and to assist you in your build or upgrades from start to finish.