The Five-Minute Check We Wish Every Homeowner Ran Before Hiring Anyone

Most bad contractor stories start the same way: the decision got made in a hurry. Water on the floor, a door that will not close, a lock that will not turn – and the first number that answered got the job.

Here is the check we would run on any company, including our own. It takes five minutes and a phone.

Minute one: look up the license

Every state publishes its contractor and trade licenses online. Search the state name plus “license lookup.” Type in the number from the company’s website or estimate. You are checking three things: the license is active, it is in the same name as the company quoting you, and the trade matches the work. A roofing license does not cover your wiring.

Minute two: drive to the address without leaving the table

Drop the street address into your map app and look at the photo. You are hoping for a shop, a yard with trucks, even a modest house with a work trailer. You are hoping not to see a shipping-store storefront full of mailboxes.

Minute three: find the owner

Somewhere on the website there should be a person – a name, a face, a first-person sentence. Family businesses cannot resist telling you who they are. Lead resellers cannot risk it.

Minute four: read one bad review

Skip the five-star reviews; every company has them. Find a three-star review and read what the company did next. A reply with a name in it, an apology, a fix – that is worth more than a hundred perfect ratings.

Minute five: call and ask one question

“If something is wrong with the work in sixty days, who comes back, and does it cost me anything?” You are not really asking about the warranty. You are listening for whether the person on the phone has ever had to honor one.

Every Locally company publishes the license, the address, the owner and the guarantee before you ever have to ask. Run the check anyway. We would rather you make a habit of it.