With the tough economy you will find contractors cutting corners with their business practices. From not paying their taxes to not paying their material suppliers in hopes to make more money to keep their lifestyle going. Eventually it will catch up to the contractor and when it does it can effect you as well. Did you know that if that contractor doesn’t pay for the materials he used to install that new roof that you could have a lien placed on your home until you pay for the materials? Yes it is true! So instead of the job costing you ten thousand dollars it might now cost an additional four thousand to satisfy the lien.
How can you protect yourself from this happening to you? There are a few ways you can help make sure the contractor you choose won’t be able to make you pay twice. Ask your contractor to provide you with his credit references. Have him give you the name of the suppliers he has credit with and call those suppliers to make sure he is good standing. At least this will give you an idea of if he pays his suppliers. Do not pay the job in full before he starts the job. If he asks for a down payment do not agree to paying for more than half the job up front. Before you pay the final invoice on the job have the contractor provide you with a lien release that states he has or will pay for all costs, labor and materials, with the proceeds collected from the job. Check with the Department of Revenue to be sure the contractor is current on paying his taxes. Just these few steps can help you protect yourself from paying twice.
Hiring a contractor to do work on your home can be risky but with common sense you can avoid the horror stories you hear about and find those contractors that are honest people to do business with.
Regal Roofing & Contracting can provide you with credit references, is current on their taxes and will provide you with a conditional lien release alone with the final invoice.