hello - I have been doing a few projects on the side for some extra pocket
money. Commissioned furniture, general repairs and carpentry. Not enough to
make a living but enough to do things like pay for vacation and gas money,
etc. I do projects like decks or kitchens or baths or whatever roofing, etc.
Most of my work has been word of mouth. My prices reflect that my
availability is limited by my day job. I do quality work and usually have
something in the pipeline.

I have been in contact with a national company selling products that need
installation. They are fine working with part time local installers for
their products. The project is simple to install and may also have some add
on work possibilities that go 100% to me. Their fee schedule for their
installs seems a bit low to me but not bad if I can do the installs quick.
Anyway, that's not the gist of my question.

My questions have to do with licensing, permits, etc. The state I am in does
not license general contractors. Each township has its own requirements for
license requirements, what's required for a permit and so forth. I do have a
"license" with the state to collect sales tax, etc.

How does a contractor claimed to be licensed? You see that all the time. In
my state I'm sure guys, even the bigger ones, are not getting licensed in
each township they operate in. What a logistical nightmare that would be.
Even just knowing for each township what requires and what doesn't require a
permit is a real PIA. Some townships around here require plumbers,
electricians, etc. to be licensed. Others do not specifically mention it
although I suspect they do to. I'm in a gray area as a generalist. What to
do?

Thanks

If you have ANY assets at all, like a house or car thats paid for
incorporate or get pricey business liability insurance.

I have a friend who was doing satellite tv installs on the side.

when walking back a sidewalk he lightly bumped the electric meter,
which wasnt attached to the home properly and the power cable had beed
covered with electric tape. REALLY UNSAFE!

Well the fire did 30 thousand in damage to the house, fire got in wall
and spread to attic. Luckily no one was hurt but the jerk who taped the
main power cable to his home and knew the service was falling off the
home sued my friend the dish installer for damages.

The installers home is largely oaid for, so he has assets, and is
fighting it in court. he was told defending will probably cost him 10
grand plus lost wages for missed work let alone general stress...But if
he loses he is out the 30K suit, plus lawyers fees all around.

His lawyer suggested he settle for 10 grand.

it should go to court in a couple years so interest is now accruing

Theres a lesson to be learned here

wrote in message
ups.com...
If you have ANY assets at all, like a house or car thats paid for
incorporate or get pricey business liability insurance.

I have a friend who was doing satellite tv installs on the side.

when walking back a sidewalk he lightly bumped the electric meter,
which wasnt attached to the home properly and the power cable had beed
covered with electric tape. REALLY UNSAFE!

Well the fire did 30 thousand in damage to the house, fire got in wall
and spread to attic. Luckily no one was hurt but the jerk who taped the
main power cable to his home and knew the service was falling off the
home sued my friend the dish installer for damages.

The installers home is largely oaid for, so he has assets, and is
fighting it in court. he was told defending will probably cost him 10
grand plus lost wages for missed work let alone general stress...But if
he loses he is out the 30K suit, plus lawyers fees all around.

His lawyer suggested he settle for 10 grand.

it should go to court in a couple years so interest is now accruing

Theres a lesson to be learned here

Thanks hal - Yep insurance for sure. Was really asking about licenses, etc.
Your dish friend is a perfect example, not what I'll be doing but similar
arrangement I suppose. In my state, from what I can tell, is that he would
not be considered a "licensed contrctor" unless he had a license for that
particular township. I'm sure he doesn't. Plus it looks like my first job
will cross stae lines. Now I need to see what rules are there! Maybe I just
review my insurance coverage and be done with it. Squirrel some cash away in
case I get a fine or something.

I have a small business liablity insurane has gone from 300 bucks to
nearly a thousand. My gross business is small but every year they raise
it saying minimum premium

Its called a LLC limited liability corporation. Had one in Loiusiana for a
while and it cost far less then incorporating
"No" wrote in message ...
hello - I have been doing a few projects on the side for some extra pocket
money. Commissioned furniture, general repairs and carpentry. Not enough
to make a living but enough to do things like pay for vacation and gas
money, etc. I do projects like decks or kitchens or baths or whatever
roofing, etc. Most of my work has been word of mouth. My prices reflect
that my availability is limited by my day job. I do quality work and
usually have something in the pipeline.

I have been in contact with a national company selling products that need
installation. They are fine working with part time local installers for
their products. The project is simple to install and may also have some
add on work possibilities that go 100% to me. Their fee schedule for their
installs seems a bit low to me but not bad if I can do the installs quick.
Anyway, that's not the gist of my question.

My questions have to do with licensing, permits, etc. The state I am in
does not license general contractors. Each township has its own
requirements for license requirements, what's required for a permit and so
forth. I do have a "license" with the state to collect sales tax, etc.

How does a contractor claimed to be licensed? You see that all the time.
In my state I'm sure guys, even the bigger ones, are not getting licensed
in each township they operate in. What a logistical nightmare that would
be. Even just knowing for each township what requires and what doesn't
require a permit is a real PIA. Some townships around here require
plumbers, electricians, etc. to be licensed. Others do not specifically
mention it although I suspect they do to. I'm in a gray area as a
generalist. What to do?

Thanks

On 24 Mar 2006 00:14:17 +0100, "No" wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...
If you have ANY assets at all, like a house or car thats paid for
incorporate or get pricey business liability insurance.

I have a friend who was doing satellite tv installs on the side.

when walking back a sidewalk he lightly bumped the electric meter,
which wasnt attached to the home properly and the power cable had beed
covered with electric tape. REALLY UNSAFE!

Well the fire did 30 thousand in damage to the house, fire got in wall
and spread to attic. Luckily no one was hurt but the jerk who taped the
main power cable to his home and knew the service was falling off the
home sued my friend the dish installer for damages.

The installers home is largely oaid for, so he has assets, and is
fighting it in court. he was told defending will probably cost him 10
grand plus lost wages for missed work let alone general stress...But if
he loses he is out the 30K suit, plus lawyers fees all around.

His lawyer suggested he settle for 10 grand.

it should go to court in a couple years so interest is now accruing

Theres a lesson to be learned here

Thanks hal - Yep insurance for sure. Was really asking about licenses, etc.
Your dish friend is a perfect example, not what I'll be doing but similar
arrangement I suppose. In my state, from what I can tell, is that he would
not be considered a "licensed contrctor" unless he had a license for that
particular township. I'm sure he doesn't.

It might only be a small factor, and I'm sure others here know more
about this, but being licensed (not in a particular township but
anywhere) might imply a higher level of skill, adn then you would be
judged by a higher standard in determining if you were negligent or
not. But that would still obably only apply in borderline situations.
In most situations, once the facts are decided (accurately or not)
you'd be clearly negligent or clearly not.)

Plus it looks like my first job
will cross stae lines. Now I need to see what rules are there!

There's the rules and standards for doing the work, and the rules for
being licensed.

Can you get licensed in your own town. Then n terms of advertising or
printing business cards, maybe you could say Licensed in Podunk
Township, Ohio. The people in Ohio should know, or it can be
explained to them, that each township does its own licensign. And
someone from out of state might assume that you put in Podunk Township
to make clear where your base of operarations is.

That still leaves you with the questions, Do you have to be licensed
in Indiana to do work ther? but that would also affect someone in
Illinois, even if Illinois had all-state licensing.

Same thing with other townships. Maybe guys do limit themselve to 4
or 5 townships (I have no idea) And maybe if the job is worth it,
they go get a license in any new township they want to work in. (I
have no idea, I'm not a contractor, and Maryland doesn't work this way
anyhow**.) You could find out two ways. You could go visit someone
reputable in town and ask how he does it. Or you could call someone
out of town, far enough that he's not licensed in your twnship, and
ask him how he would handle this.


**In MD. they even put their MHIC (Maryland Home Improvement
C-something license number in their Yellow Pages ad and on their
cards. I don't know that that's required, maybe it's just a clear way
of saying their licensed.

Maybe I just
review my insurance coverage and be done with it. Squirrel some cash away in
case I get a fine or something.

"No" wrote in message ...
hello - I have been doing a few projects on the side for some extra pocket
money. Commissioned furniture, general repairs and carpentry. Not enough
to
make a living but enough to do things like pay for vacation and gas money,
etc. I do projects like decks or kitchens or baths or whatever roofing,
etc.
Most of my work has been word of mouth. My prices reflect that my
availability is limited by my day job. I do quality work and usually have
something in the pipeline.

I have been in contact with a national company selling products that need
installation. They are fine working with part time local installers for
their products. The project is simple to install and may also have some
add
on work possibilities that go 100% to me. Their fee schedule for their
installs seems a bit low to me but not bad if I can do the installs quick.
Anyway, that's not the gist of my question.

My questions have to do with licensing, permits, etc. The state I am in
does
not license general contractors. Each township has its own requirements
for
license requirements, what's required for a permit and so forth. I do have
a
"license" with the state to collect sales tax, etc.

How does a contractor claimed to be licensed? You see that all the time.
In
my state I'm sure guys, even the bigger ones, are not getting licensed in
each township they operate in. What a logistical nightmare that would be.
Even just knowing for each township what requires and what doesn't require
a
permit is a real PIA. Some townships around here require plumbers,
electricians, etc. to be licensed. Others do not specifically mention it
although I suspect they do to. I'm in a gray area as a generalist. What to
do?

First as others have pointed out you need a general liability policy. You
can't afford to work without one. Most companies won't write you one without
at least 2 years experience. Part time as you have been doing is usually
enough to establish your credentials.

I am licensed in my county of residence as a specialty contractor. I
truthfully state that I am insured and licensed (mycounty lisc #). I am
insured wherever I work and I don't worry about the license part. I
routinely work in 6 different counties and two states. I am never on a
single job for more than a day and it is all inside work, no permits
required type stuff. If it ever get to the point where I need 17 licenses
and 17 local tax returns to file, I will quit and live on food stamps or
just quit working out of county.

You never said for sure if your work was going to require permits. If it is
and you have to pull a permit, you are going to have to dance through the
hoops. That is how a $100 job becomes a $500 job.

Best wishes


--
Colbyt
One picture can be worth a 1000 words.
Post yours at www.ImageGenie.net for FREE.

**In MD. they even put their MHIC (Maryland Home Improvement
C-something license number in their Yellow Pages ad and on their
cards. I don't know that that's required, maybe it's just a clear way
of saying their licensed.



In MD,FL, and almost every other licensing state, if you state that you
are "licensed", you must also include the license number. It has become
law in most states in order to prevent anyone from just claiming to be
licensed. Sadly, many homeowners never actually check to make sure
someone claiming to be licensed is actually licensed.

This is a good point and something I've wondered. I am living in
Indiana now and there is no licensing board for anything except
plumbers here. There is no such thing as a general contractors license
accepted by the state.(there should be and probably will be someday).
But you always see people claiming to be licensed. I know you can get
licensed in certain localities but it doesn't seem to be true in every
city/township and it's not something well known. I've asked many
contractors that claim to be licensed what they mean and I have never
gotten a straight answer. They totally dodge the question. It seems to
me if they were locally licensed they would explain that and explain
that this state doesn't offer a contractor's license from the state but
I've never gotten that explanation. I think they just put it there
because it goes unchallenged for the most part.