contractors license & past due debt

[Darrenwest]

Can a felon get a contractors license in ohio


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[kbsparky]

I think it is unfair to even look at ones finances for something like this, and not just contractors but any similar type of professional license.

How about we refuse to issue drivers licenses to people that have any outstanding debt? Does having outstanding debt mean they will be bad drivers?

As far as a new contractor applicant, you are taking away a potential opportunity for him to build a successful business, all because he has nothing to start with:thumbsdown: Many successful professionals had little or nothing to start with.

And then there are going to be existing businesses that do go through a hard time for whatever reason - if you refuse to renew their license because they have bad debt, you are taking away the opportunity to do business and possibly recover, if they have employees you are taking away jobs, and there could be other snowball type effects.

Management of debt is between the business owner and whoever the debt is with, not licensing boards, maybe there is an unresolved legal dispute behind that debt in some cases.

It really depends on where you live and what type of contracting you wish to do.

It's normally easier to get a license for smaller types of jobs (residential) than to contract multi-million dollar commercial/industrial jobs ( if you are looking at general contracting ).

There are two types of license, one is a professional license ( electrical, plumbing, HVAC, GC ) and this is for competency. Then you normally need a business license to operate a business in whatever area. This is where they may ask you for proof of financial responsibility. They may want insurance, bonding or even capital.

If you wish to operate a business ( which is what you are doing) in a certain area then the best place to start is the business license office and they will tell you what is required to operate a business in that area.

In many states, there are consumer protections in place. In Virginia, for example, there is a contractor recovery fund which consumers can apply for when dishonest contractors "take the money and run" ---

Virginia requires a certain level of financial stability before issuing a contracting license. This minimizes (but does not eliminate) the frequency of claims being made against contractors who have taken money from customers, but not delivered the promised goods or services.

So it DOES matter if you want to engage in business.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Can a felon get a contractors license in ohio

google: contractors license in ohio requirements



if they won't allow you, there is always political office....
unless of course, your parents were married......


to each other... that rules out most political offices.

 

[kwired]

The reason some agencies require financial information and or worthiness is because they want to make sure you can carry the costs for work until time you can legally receive payment. In CA for residential remodel work you cannot take more than 10% or no more than 1k up front. You can easily have out more than that before work is completed or time for a draw.

CA does not allow any payments greater than work, they also frown on demanding large payments for deliverd material without associated work.

It is easy to go belly up with these rules.

Those rules seem to favor those that are well established - gee I wonder who may have helped get them passed. You have to draw the line somewhere between what is consumer protection and what is singling out the small guy who has just as much right to do business as anyone else. Big companies are good at ripping people off as well, they may just do it in less noticeable ways is why it goes unnoticed, and they can afford the attorneys if they get sued. Business is a dog eat dog world, and the big dogs win the majority of the time. The smaller guy that is honest, outside of complying with some of the questionable laws made by the bigger dogs, can do well with clients that financially are on same level or below. They can make it with some bigger dogs, but there is that occasional big dog that comes along and takes advantage of them .

In many states, there are consumer protections in place. In Virginia, for example, there is a contractor recovery fund which consumers can apply for when dishonest contractors "take the money and run" ---

Virginia requires a certain level of financial stability before issuing a contracting license. This minimizes (but does not eliminate) the frequency of claims being made against contractors who have taken money from customers, but not delivered the promised goods or services.

So it DOES matter if you want to engage in business.

So a new guy that wants to start his own business but has little or no financial backing legally can not do so, I don't think that was the intention of our countrie's forefathers. I can understand requiring insurance, and that is a hurdle that is not all that difficult to overcome, insurance may seem expensive but this type of insurance is not so expensive that it is that hard to get. If those same laws of capital assets applied to me I would have never been allowed to start my business, and after what I have accomplished owning a business for close to 20 years - maybe still wouldn't qualify to have a contractors license in some states from what I have read, seems pretty sad to me in a country where everyone is supposed to be equal.