Hiring a side-jobber

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jeff43222

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Minneapolis, Minnesota
Just had a call where a Realtor needed someone to sign off on an electrical safety check for the city. The form must be filled out and signed by a licensed EC. So they hired a licensed journeyman who was side jobbing, and the city promptly rejected the form.

I find it funny that a side jobber thought he could sign paperwork despite not being properly licensed to do so. The Realtor wound up having to pay for two inspections, too, since the first one was useless.
 
This happens more often than you would think. We literally get dozens of phone calls per month from insurance companies, realtors, investment firms, ect... about this very issue. You would also not believe how many times the homeowner/realtor simply fills out the forms themselves. :(
 
I hope it doesn't happen here very often. The form I signed had this prominently listed just above where you sign:
WARNING: Whoever, for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of this office, makes, passes, utters or publishes any false statement shall be turned over to the City Attorney for prosecution. Also, the Licensing Authority and Bonding Agent shall be notified of such action.
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Seems to me it wouldn't be worth the risk.
 
You would think it wouldn't be worth the risk, yet here in the state of Florida, an average of over 100 calls per month are made to the contractors' licensing boards for unlicensed activity complaints and nearly two dozen or so licensed contractors lose their license at a disciplinary hearings every month.

The August 2006 construction industry licensing board disciplinary fees just for that month exceeded $962,000.
 
big vic said:
I take no calls from any realtor
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They aren't all bad. Sometimes it can be lucrative. The safety check I signed today had me in and out in less than 30 minutes, and travel time wasn't an issue because I happened to be looking over an upcoming job two blocks away. It was probably the easiest/fastest $85 I ever made.
 
bphgravity said:
You would think it wouldn't be worth the risk, yet here in the state of Florida, an average of over 100 calls per month are made to the contractors' licensing boards for unlicensed activity complaints and nearly two dozen or so licensed contractors lose their license at a disciplinary hearings every month.

The August 2006 construction industry licensing board disciplinary fees just for that month exceeded $962,000.
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Wow. I can understand calls about unlicensed activity, as we have many self-certified handymen offering electrical services to the public, too. But two dozen licensed contractors losing their licenses every month? What are they doing that is causing them to lose their licenses?
 
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Jeff, what type of safety check are we talking about? $85.00 seems very cheap for assuming liability on a property. Here I normally do a check of the service before the power is turned on and then go back and do the real check with power on. ( Here safety checks are only required if the power has been off form 6 months to a years or if the power company refuses to connect because they spot a hazard). We have to get a permit and an inspection and then sign a release form. I charge a minimun of $250.00 and that is if everthing is perfect. It's a lot of time and paperwork.
 
growler said:
Jeff, what type of safety check are we talking about? $85.00 seems very cheap for assuming liability on a property. Here I normally do a check of the service before the power is turned on and then go back and do the real check with power on. ( Here safety checks are only required if the power has been off form 6 months to a years or if the power company refuses to connect because they spot a hazard). We have to get a permit and an inspection and then sign a release form. I charge a minimun of $250.00 and that is if everthing is perfect. It's a lot of time and paperwork.
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This one wasn't quite so involved. In the city we have a "truth in housing" inspection that is required before a house can be put on the market. The inspector is a private housing inspector licensed by the city. He flagged the property because the meter is in the attached garage rather than outside. He ordered an electrical safety check for that reason, so a licensed EC has to inspect it (visually) and certify it as safe.

The meter socket has been in the garage for a very long time, but it was installed properly and didn't have any obvious safety problems. Additionally, there was a panel upgrade in 1989, inspected by the city, and they clearly didn't have a problem with the meter being where it was. No one (city, PoCo, etc.) is ordering that the meter be moved.

Personally, I don't see why a safety check was needed just because the meter was in the garage. I imagine it was on some checklist that automatically sends up a red flag with a truth-in-housing inspector.
 
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Thanks Jeff, here we don't have truth in housing inspections or much truth in home sales. They can get a private firm to inspect but it's not official just a bargaining tool. We only have a power-on safety inspection for houses that have been setting empty. Sometimes there are vandals and at other times there are people not happy with foreclosure. I have seen where the owner or someone took the ground wire ( it's copper ). I can inspect a meter base and fill out the paperwork in 30 minutes but a home inspection will take about 2 hours. I really try to dig in there, I get paid to repair any problems that I find.
 
Once in a while I get a call from a homeowner who is selling their house and needs someone to sign off on some work they did without a permit, usually a finished basement. The township here requires a letter from a licensed EC stating that the installation is up to code. I tell them I will perform an inspection, correct any violations, and write the letter they need. I then explain about all the liability issues involved. Then I tell them the letter will cost them $500, plus the cost of any work required to make it code compliant. They respond with something like "OK, that's fine". They're just happy to get the issue resolved. I'm happy too, because I just made enough for this months payment on the new van in about two hours.

John
 
Around here we just have to write a letter stating that we fixed the defects
found by the home inspector that the prospective homeowner wants fixed. I've done that several times.
But I'm amazed at how much they miss.
There is even a buyout of $500 off the selling price if the homeowner chooses not to repair for whatever reason. A lot of times $500 wouldn't touch what was wrong,but, if you want the house bad enough.......
 
The guys in this area that do housing inpections do a really good job. Hats off to them. New home owners and realtors that come to me with "Just fix what is needed.." drive me up a wall. When these guys note it, it needs to be fixed. I don't get many of those jobs because the customers can barely afford the "new to them" house let alone the T&M only repairs.
 
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