Are Permits Really Necessary?

So you need to have some electrical work done and you have a friend that knows someone that has done a bit of electrical work.  You have this person give you a price and he gives you a great price and you are excited to have the work done at a really low price.  You ask him if he will be pulling a permit and he says not to worry, that would just cost you more, and you don’t need one.

 Beware, beware, beware.  Do you want to entrust your home with someone clearly unlicensed and therefore uninsured?  Keep in mind that if a fire results from work done by someone uninsured and you try to get your insurance company to cover it, they will likely discover that work was done and deny coverage, and then what will you have saved?

 When you require that a contractor pull a permit, the City or Township will verify the contractor’s license for you.  Further, the City or Township will inspect the work to make sure it is in compliance with code.  In addition, you need to make sure the contractor’s insurance is current – just because the contractor is licensed does not mean his or her insurance is up to date.

 Verify licensing, check insurance, and call on references…………………..always.