Hiring a Pro: five questions before you sign

Most bad contractor stories start with a skipped step at the beginning. Five questions cover most of them.

1. Are you licensed for this work, here?

Ask for the license number and look it up with your state or city. Some trades are licensed by the state, some by the county, and some not at all; know which applies to yours.

2. Can your agent send me a certificate of insurance?

You want general liability and workers compensation, current, with limits that would actually cover a bad day. A certificate sent from the agent cannot be doctored.

3. Who is doing the work?

The person selling the job is often not the one installing it. Ask whether it is their crew or a subcontractor, who supervises, and who you call with a problem.

4. Can I have that in writing?

Scope, price, schedule, payment terms, warranty. Verbal promises evaporate.

5. Can I talk to two recent customers?

Not the two they always give. Ask for the last two jobs like yours. Online reviews help too; look at the pattern, not the one-star outlier.

Every HomeMaxx Pro who carries the Verified shield has answered the first two questions to HomeMaxx, with documents, and re-answers them every year.