Arizona regulates builders, and there’s an easy way to find out if they’re licensed and can be held accountable for damages or bad work.
If a contractor knocks on your door, offering to fix your roof, fence or paint for a bargain price, check the Arizona Registrar of Contractors website at www.azroc.gov before signing any deal or handing over any money.
If a builder is licensed, the status of it’s permit to operate will be listed as well as contact information and a license number that should be included on all contracts. Any complaints against the builder, resolved and unresolved, are also tallied on the site.
If there’s no license for the contractor on the website, shut the door.
Scams involving unlicensed contractors who take money up front and then never finish or even start the work promised, appear to be on the rise in Arizona based on the growing “most wanted contractor list” and penalties levied by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors during the past year.
Arizona’s booming growth has long attracted disreputable builders.
Consumers have little to no hope of getting their money back, or the work completed, if their contractor isn’t licensed. If work is done shoddily or not finished by a licensed builder, the homeowner can be paid back from the state’s contractor recovery fund.
During the past year, the Registrar has levied about $250,000 in fines against unlicensed builders in Arizona.
The latest crackdown on an unlicensed contractor happened earlier this month when Lake Havasu City police arrested Adam Frank Lilla, the owner of Artisan Fine Woodworking, on allegations of contracting and advertising building services without a license.
Lilla is on Arizona’s Most Wanted Unlicensed Contractors list, compiled by the Registrar. The list usually has 10 contractors, but now is up to 13.
Problems and scams reported to the state agency from homeowners vary from work not being finished on time to tens of thousands of dollars being paid with no contracting work completed. Monsoon season is prime time in Arizona for unlicensed contractor scams.
According to the state agency, “scam artists” traveling state-to-state go door-to-door and offer to fix storm damage at “an unbeatable price with leftover material” from other jobs.
The con artist usually drives a new truck outfitted with building equipment and asks for cash. The work is never done, and it’s difficult for the building regulator and police to track down the swindlers.
A check list from the Registrar for homeowners hiring a contractor:
• Check out the builder’s license.
• Make sure the person is actually with the licensed contractor by calling the firm directly.
• Get written estimates for the work.
•Make sure the contract is detailed with information on any building permits legally required.
•Never pay cash, and only make out checks to the licensed contractor.
•Avoid builders who require big upfront payments.
Because some deals are just too good to be true.
Source: azcentral.com
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