By Jesse Morado
I recently met with an attorney friend of mine who represented a homeowner against a local contractor who was operating a remodeling business illegally in the State of Georgia. It seems this remodeling contractor was hired to renovate a basement for Jane Doe (let’s call her Jane Doe for the sake of this article), who ended up securing the services of my attorney friend to help her with a dispute she had with her contractor.
The attorney was successful in helping Jane win a judgment against her contractor for recovery of all monies paid plus attorney fees. So how did this all evolve and how did Jane manage get a judgment to collect every penny back and then some? It all started with Jane searching online for a remodeler to finish her basement.
Jane chose to conduct her search from a ratings/review website and began perusing contractors who had experience finishing basements. The contractor she hired had over a hundred positive reviews from customers and an appealing website. The contractor was a good salesperson and soon had Jane swept off her feet with all the promises of converting her simple basement into a space she would treasure for years to come.
Once the contractor had a contract and a check from Jane he started the project, but along the way Jane discovered she was not receiving what she was promised and had been paying for. A dispute ensued between her and the contractor and the rest is history. Jane’s attorney discovered the contractor was not a licensed contractor as required in Georgia, which resulted in the state issuing a cease and desist letter to the contractor. It is illegal for a contractor to do business in Georgia if he or she does not hold the proper license for the type of contracting work he or she performs.
What did Jane base her buying decision on? Reviews and ratings posted about her contractor. But do reviews ensure your contractor is a true professional? Does a positive review communicate the contractor is in compliance with state and local regulations? Does a positive review tell the homeowner the contractor holds the required insurance and is paying his or her premiums? Does a positive review communicate to the homeowner that the contractor has experience with the type of project they are considering? Most of these costly issues fail to show up in a review. If one homeowner is happy with his inexpensive simple $25,000 basement project and writes a positive review about his contractor does it mean the contractor has the experience to deliver a $125,000 basement project for another homeowner? All homeowners, their homes, expectations, and budgets are unique.
If you are solely basing your buying decision on a review you see posted online somewhere, you need to be diligent and continue to do your homework. Rating and review services are great and have simplified our buying decision based on experiences of others, but one must continue to be diligent in verifying the contractor’s credentials and experience. The saying “don’t believe everything you read” applies here.
By the way, Jane recovered all of her monies in her lawsuit against her contractor because the licensing bill states that an unlicensed contractor’s contract is unenforceable. Contractors’ if you are reading this and don’t have a license contact the Secretary of States Office to request information on licensing.
Jesse Morado is President of Renovation Coach, Inc. a consulting firm providing pre-construction guidance and risk management for homeowners and writes a blog for GetProContractors.com. He recently was elected Education Committee Chair for the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. renovationcoach.com