Contractor vs. Handyman

When should you use a contractor instead of a handyman?

Knowing the distinction between a licensed contractor and a handyman can be tough. Yet, who you choose to hire for a specific job is an important part of real estate ownership and can minimize your exposure to potential risk and liability.

The main difference between a handyman and a contractor is that a handyman is not legally allowed to perform a job costing more than $600. You may be thinking, “No problem, I’ll just buy the materials and pay the handyman separately.” Unfortunately, your savvy thinking won’t help bypass that limit since the $600 includes materials and labor regardless of who is making the purchase. You have to make sure the total is under $600 – for Everything!

So now you’re probably thinking it’s easy, right? For anything that costs over $600 you just hire a contractor and you’re all set? Nope, there’s still more to it. The next and most important step is that you need to make sure that your contractor is not only qualified to perform the work but properly insured too. Here are the 3 things you need to check before hiring a contractor:

So when do I use a contractor?

What kind of license does the contractor have and is their license active? There are many types of contractor licenses ranging from electrical (C-10) and plumbing (C-36) to both General Contractor (B) and General Engineering Contractor (A). You can see what qualification your contractor needs for your job here (Contractor License Classifications).

Insurance

Does the contractor have liability insurance? Liability insurance is an important part of the hiring process as it will limit your risk in case there is a mishap on the job. Always make sure your contractor has liability insurance by asking for a copy of the insurance certificate and be sure to check the dates of the policy to ensure it is still valid. Additionally, if you’re hiring them to work on your house you should ask them to add you and your home as an additional insured, and request that their insurance company send over a certificate stating so. If something goes wrong you’ll be glad you did!

Does the contractor have workers compensation insurance? Do they need it? This is arguably the most important step to confirm. If anyone other than the owner of the contractor’s company is going to be working at your property you need to make sure that they have workers comp insurance. Construction is a very dangerous industry and injuries can happen easily. If someone gets hurt on your property and the contractor doesn’t have the proper workers comp insurance you can be liable.

You can check to see if the contractor has workers comp insurance here (Contractor License Check). Simply enter your contractor’s license number and scroll down to see if they are exempt or have insurance. Contractors are only exempt if they have no employees. Here is our license as an example of what you should expect to see (Levine Homes Construction License). Check to make sure that the license is “current and active” and that contractor has workers comp insurance.

Is this all necessary?

Now at this point, you’re probably thinking, “Do I really have to? I mean finding a good contractor is hard enough!” Frankly, some people don’t follow this checklist and usually, there isn’t a problem, but to minimize your exposure I highly recommend spending just a couple extra minutes to take these precautions, especially if a ladder or scaffolding is going to be used on your project. Better safe than sorry, right?

If you have any additional questions about who to hire or how, feel free to contact us anytime. We are happy to help!