I just want to remind you that cheap is not better. Not usually and probably never. Professional, experienced, licensed and insured should be the first and foremost reasons to hire a contractor. If you hire an unlicensed, uninsured person to work on your home and they damage something else and it happens that they don't pay for it, your homeowners insurance will NOT cover the repairs because it is assumed that the contractor's insurance will cover the damage. If they're hurt while working on your property, they won't be covered under worker's comp and may be able to sue you! If they do the job incorrectly, they probably don't even know how to do it right or they may never return or you may not find out until much later...and then you'll have to hire a professional to get it done right in the end.
What if they or their employee steals from you? The company isn't a legal entitly so there's no licensing authority to hold them accountable. If you can't prove they did it, they will not be held accountable by the law.
Licensed contractors have a standard to follow and an authority to answer to like we do. They do the right thing by paying licensing fees like we do and yet they lose millions to unlicensed nonprofessionals.
I constantly get intraoffice emails or see agents posting on social media for a cheap painter, etc. The next time your client asks you for to find them a cheap (fill in skilled labor here), please remember that "you get what you pay for". If you need a frame of reference, there are unlicensed people "Brokering" home sales for unknowing sellers and buyers somewhere out there while you're taking time for training, paying licensing fees, etc. Consider that this occurs much more often in other trades than in our Real Estate business. Thanks for your time and, next time, ask for referrals on a reliable, responsible, experienced, knowledgeable and creative contractor; not a cheap one!
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