How do you find the best renovators for your Bull City Home? While many might think that just about anyone who calls themselves professionals can do the job, you might find that many established Durham, NC general contractors like Prince & Sons, Inc. have a definite edge against such people—for one, they’re licensed and prequalified for bonding.
Definition
First, you need to know what exactly a licensed and bonded contractor is. According to an article in the Real Estate Law section of FreeAdvice.com:
A Licensed Contactor
While the laws for a contractor’s license differs by state, in most cases, a license is required to do any type of skilled labor on another person’s home or property. For instance, an electrician, a plumber, or a mechanical contractor is required to have a license. Someone performing a variety of tasks may need to obtain a general contractor’s license. The state may impose specific requirements such as minimum education or work experience to obtain a license.
A Bonded Contractor
When a contractor is bonded, this means he has purchased a surety bond. This is a type of insurance policy that protects a property owner. The bond provides a certain amount of liability protection and if the contractor fails to complete a job as required or contracted, the bond can provide compensation to a property owner.
Experience
The very fact that to be licensed means to pass an examination, it goes without saying that contractors who are officially considered professionals have much more training and experience than your average Joe with a questionable background. This also means that a licensed professional is someone who actually meets your state’s standards when it comes to work quality and the reliability of his company.
Security
Having a surety bond secures you from the cost of a botched job, so you can be assured that you won’t get ripped off. In some cases, contractors need to be bonded before they can be granted use of their license, much like an additional security measure for the benefit of consumers. Working with bonded contractors also protects you from the burden of other costs such as that of unpaid workers assisting with the project as well as unpaid supply bills.
So the next time you choose to hire a general contractor in Durham, NC for your home improvement project, look for those who are both licensed and prequalified for bonding. Otherwise, you will have little to no means of making a claim against a company that botched a project and left you with more to repair than when you first hired them.
(Source: Licensed and Bonded Contractors: What It Means and Why Hire, FreeAdvice)