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Unlicensed Contractors

4K views 40 replies 20 participants last post by  catch'n 
#1 ·
#2 ·
here is whats up with that.... http://www.azroc.gov/wanted/index.htm

alot of people getting screwed and no recourse. i doubt your going to get busted for helping your buddy. i think you can do almost anything up to $749.99 that would be considered contracting and not need a license. but if you do the work and they dont pay you cant sue, and if you screw the job up they cant sue....
 
#4 ·
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bso-sweep-20091105,0,1403726.story

WTF is this shit....this is whats wrong w/ America.....dudes looking for work and get arrested...an people wonder why our country is going to shit. I guess I can't fix my neighbors eletrical panel anymore because Im not a contractor:hitsfan:
Ryco is in the ballpark. Or something like that. I looked it up once and not 100 percent sure anymore. You don't need a landscaping contractors license to mow a lawn or have a lawn service.
 
#5 ·
when i got licensed they said you can do up to the 749.99 mark and you had to do different stuff. like you couldnt advertise Franklins Plumbing and be unlicensed. but you could put Franklins handyman service and do a little of it all, but you had to put unlicensed in your adds. and you couldnt split one project up into 749.99 sections. they had some rules for that too but i forgot.
 
#6 ·
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bso-sweep-20091105,0,1403726.story

WTF is this shit....this is whats wrong w/ America.....dudes looking for work and get arrested...an people wonder why our country is going to shit. I guess I can't fix my neighbors eletrical panel anymore because Im not a contractor:hitsfan:
Wow, you think it's alright for say illegals coming over here and stealing work form licensed contractors? It's a loose/loose situation bro. Homeowner gets substandard work, worker get's substandard pay. Go get licensed charge an honest days wage for an honest days work. I know there are alot of contractors hurting in this town and on this site and this kind of chit don't help. Franky you been hanging out with the libs to much or what?
JMHO of course.
 
#7 ·
Wow, you think it's alright for say illegals coming over here and stealing work form licensed contractors? It's a loose/loose situation bro. Homeowner gets substandard work, worker get's substandard pay. Go get licensed charge an honest days wage for an honest days work. I know there are alot of contractors hurting in this town and on this site and this kind of chit don't help. Franky you been hanging out with the libs to much or what?
JMHO of course.
There has been plenty of licensed contractors that have screwed over the public in the last two years. Plenty.
 
#8 ·
WTF is this shit....this is whats wrong w/ America.....dudes looking for work and get arrested...an people wonder why our country is going to shit. I guess I can't fix my neighbors eletrical panel anymore because Im not a contractor
You damn right. There's no way i would hire someone to perform electrical work at my house unless he or she is licensed and bonded. What if something goes wrong Jamal and your house burns down? Guess what insurance aint gonna cover it because you or someone else performed that work that wasnt up to code.
 
#10 ·
So say your buddy loses him job, used to be licensed, and insured, cant afford it anymore, but he's done good work for you in the past...you'll hire him because you trust his work...thats all Im saying

And trust me I've seen some licensed contract work....just because you have a license doesn't mean you do good work, it means I have avenues to sue if anything goes wrong.....

For example say something went wrong w/ Jamies tile company and he lost his license, I would still hire him for tile work because I know him and his work is badass.....
 
#12 ·
I deal with both licensed and unlicensed contractor situations all time. Any jobs that are $750.00 or over requires a licensed contractor. It doesn't mean that you can't hire a person to do that work. That's your call, but according to the Registrar of Contractors, the contractor is in violation and if the ROC finds out that a contractor is performing work valued more than $750.00 they will go after them. It's a protection for the consumer. If you hire a licensed contractor and the work isn't up to your satisfaction, the ROC will help you. You can file a complaint against them and if it's deemed the contractor didn't do their work up to standards, the ROC will be on your side to get it corrected. The licensed contractors are also required to have a bond, which will pay to correct the problem, if your contractor fails to do so. I am not saying that you won't get quality work from an unlicensed contractor, I am just saying that if you tried to save a buck and hired someone without a license, you are on your own. I have worked with homeowners that have hired unlicensed contractors to build their homes hoping to get a nice home for a discount price. When things don't go as expected you aren't protected by the ROC. You can find lots of information by going to http://www.azroc.gov/index.html
 
#13 ·
Back in 01 the company I was working for closed down. It was an automation company. At the time there were five automation companys in Tucson. Three of them closed within a two week period. I thought I would just go back to working in the machine shops. Guess what, they were all laying off. So now I got no job, no insurance, and no job in sight. So with no income, and bills to pay I loaded my tools in the truck and started taking on jobs. Kept the roof over my head, paid my own insurance, and never took a dime of unemployment. Damn shame to see people get punished for that....
 
#14 ·
Thank you for not being a scab. I appreciate your hard work and drive.

To many contractors get work, give it to the mexicans( sorry sub-contractors) and the work is shitty. So a contractor bidded the job and got it, but didn't do the job because it is just easier to pass it along and get a check at the end. Some contractors just claim bankruptcy and change their business name, when things go bad. A man is defined by his work, not a piece of paper.
 
#16 ·
I must be a moron for PAYING for a license and a bond and ins. Makes me feel sorry for the unemployed people that have to steal to pay for their drugs. Why should some people pay to be legal and people with sad stories can just break the law? You were entitled to unemployment benefits not to break the law.
phaz
I thought the exact same thing as soon as I read it. My old man was the same way,... grumbling under his breath about people using unemployment. Its not wealfare bro. It's there to use THATS WHAT IT'S FOR. You have been paying for it since the day you started working so why not use it.

2020- WTF first you say there are plenty of liscensed contractors that do chity work then you say, a man is defined by the job he does, and don't be a scab. So wich is it are you for or against hiring of unliscensed do you even know?

Frank- nothing wrong with helping your neighbor or using someone you know does quality work. But your examples are not what was illustrated in the story you posted. Those are people trying to cheat the system. Where honest people like phaz who are liscensed and boded for the sake of his customers loose jobs to people like they are busting who can charge less because they don't follow the rules.

Fellas why do you think they require liscenses? Because people get phuked out of there money by pieces of chit like that grab the $ and go. Can there liscensed people that do chity work? Of course but some kind of training or regulations or whatever has proven historically to be nescessary.
 
#17 ·
A license is not required for a job of less than $750. that is total. Not just one portion of the job. This includes materials no matter who buys them. if there are multible jobs going on at the same time the home owner is acting like his own general, the total cost can still not exceed the 750. Home owners do not require a license to work on their own stuff. A license is required for all commercial work. Don't for get the bldg permit or you can be screwed when it comes time to sell or if you need an insurance claim.
Most unlicensed guys are not that much that much cheaper.

PS
If your unlicensed buddy cant afford insurance what makes you think he will be able to stand behind his work or if your house burns down pay your out of pocet expenses.
 
#18 ·
I own several properties in Phoenix and Tucson. I have had bad experiences with both licensed & bonded contractors for big jobs and unlicensed handymen for small jobs. I took the biggest hit from a licensed contractor on a addition job. Too complicated to fully explain my case here. I sued and went thru ROC and only recovered less than half of my loses plus attorney fees. I think the trust factor and experience is required when hiring out to unknown tradesmen. Plus the economy puts extra stress on even honest guy's to do jobs just for wages and not profit. Champ explained that one to me on a different thread. I tend to go with the licensed guy's more than not.
 
#20 ·
bottom line
its not fair to the contractors who are tring to stay afloat and these unlicensed guys bid so low , the licensed guy gets screwed..
im all for the sting and here to!!
fck you non licensed guyz!!!!!!!!!!!!!
go get a license like everyone else, shit arizona gives them to anyone!!!
if your worried about someone just check with the BBB or the azroc
 
#21 ·
Where are all those " Arizona is a right to work state" BS in other posts?
 
#23 ·
I never said you do drugs I don't even know you. I said doing work without a license is a crime and I don't care how you justify it. You were entitled to up and you should have used it. Maybe the people that get caught ripping off customer of their hard earned money should use that excuse in front of the judge maybe he will care about it. And franklin if you help a friend out that is not the same. Oh and yes I am a FAWKING tool.LOL. I had a guy that used to work for me steal my lic. about 2 years ago and got caught ripping off customers and molesting a child and I had no problem going to court and testify against him. He finally got 10 years in prison 3 of those were for me. Sorry you took it wrong but the law is the law.
phaz
 
#25 ·
mtnbiker x; Alot of people who think like you exampled have no problem justifing there behavior. If these type of people get hurt working without ins. they also can claim that suing the customer is in the best interest of their family. And just because you say you wouldn't doesn't hold a lot of weight, or mean if you died because of it your wife; mother or other family member wouldn't.
A lot of people I have worked with who "put on there tools to do side jobs" have another advantage over licensed contractors. They have used MY MATERIALS to do the job. In one case they used my invoice to get paid and I had to go back and fix the problems.
I guess it is ok not to pay taxes on that income or job either.
 
#27 ·
Well, your not getting the fact that unemployment would not have been enough money to pay my bills and take care of my family. I went down and filed for it, did the math and found out I was in real trouble. i busted my azz doing whatever I could to stay afloat. I mean really, should I just wait till the bank forcloses on my house? Not me bro... I'm going to pick up a shovel, hammer, whatever and go make a buck and pay my bills. The last thing I'm going to do is just wait for someone to take care of me. Oh, and believe it or not I do really good work and never ripped anyone off. Actually I did alot of repairs on the shoddy work others had done. Also, If I intended to make a career of it, I would have made a plan to get a license.

The drug thing, if you didn't mean that towards me, then why did you make a post directed at me saying this?

"Makes me feel sorry for the unemployed people that have to steal to pay for their drugs"

If you didn't intend to imply that I was stealing to pay for drugs then I apologize for the GFYS comment. But if anyone want's to say that I'm stealing to pay for drugs, then yeah GFYS!!!

GFYS= Go Fawk Your Self
 
#32 ·
It's actually a $1000 now in AZ. Used to be $800. A lot of people will just break up the job into pieces to get around it.

The key things are the following - some of what others above me said:

1. Know who you're dealing with and plan for the worst - even from the best. Accidents happen.

2. If you have issues, you get no coverage from your insurance company, the law and/or the ROC recovery fund.

3. There is no work-around for certain types of jobs like erection of scaffolding, connections to utility service lines, metering devices and sewer lines, etc.

4. Residential is not the same as commercial.

Check out these fine citizens:

http://www.azroc.gov/wanted/index.htm

About 5 years ago, I learned all of the above the hard way from trying to save some money with an a$$hole who billed himself as "AZ Trenching" - the wad chewed through a 220v line to my inground spa 10 minutes after I marked its location on the ground and pointed it out to him.

But I got over it and learned that what goes around, comes around - although sometimes one has to help it come around for the other side.
 
#35 ·
It's actually a $1000 now in AZ. Used to be $800. A lot of people will just break up the job into pieces to get around it.

you cant break up the job into different invoices because the $1000 is for one year per household.

Personally, I am a licensed contractor and could give a shit less who anyone uses. If you only had licensed guys doing work no one would be able to afford to get their houses done. Remember competition stimulates the market and keeps prices down. Plenty of homeonwers have been f##ked over by licensed and unlicensed guys. Just make sure to get plenty of references and ask them to physically look at their work before you hire them. Protect yourself by paying upon completion and only give a small. down payment for materials. Let's face it, almost any licensed general contractor on this board wouldnt do a quarter of the little handyman shit because it is not worth your time and you can't cover your expenses.

People who want licensed contractors make sure to only hire licensed contractors. People who want a low price hire whoever will do it cheaper and they get whatever they get. If you are a licensed contractor you don't want some dipshit nickle and diming you because they cant afford you.
 
#36 ·
You can't think of any contractors license as a proof that the contractor knows what they are doing. Don't think of it as a drivers license or a ccw license where there was a class for training. Its not a diploma. Its like a license plate for your car or registering a gun. It only makes your jobs traceable back too so if there are problems they can come after you legally. It doesn't make one person a better contractor than another. It just shows that one will follow the rules (well at least one rule any way) and one won't.
 
#39 ·
The system doesn't really matter, you will see in the future. But that is besides the point. My point is I can hire someone that has been a plumber for thirty years and worked under someone that had a contractors license, but never had one himself. After 30 years of plumbing I think the guy with the no contractors license will have more knowledge then some kid that took the school that tells you how to pass your contractors license. In all your schooling in your life, you only retain 10 to 15 percent of that knowledge. So if you have a friend or neighbor that has been working in a trade for a long time, but he aint working because there isn't much Construction work and you help pay half his mortgage by giving him work in his trade, I don't see anything wrong with it. I see it as a way of preserving your property value. You wouldn't want a foreclosed home next to your house, now would you. If people were not out of work contractors wouldn't care. These are some sad times it is only going to get worse. Prepare now because the mother of all carry trades is going to blow up in 6 months to a year. Just My Opinion.
 
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