Roof, pool or remodel in El Mirage? Check the contractor first

El Mirage homeowner talking with a roofing contractor before paying a deposit

A lot of El Mirage houses are reaching the age where things start needing work: original roofs, original water heaters, air conditioning units on their second or third summer of complaints, and backyards that owners finally want to finish.

That is good business for honest contractors and an opening for the other kind. The pattern is familiar to anyone who reads neighbourhood forums. A friendly person knocks after a monsoon storm, or posts a low quote online, takes a deposit, does part of the job or none of it, and stops answering the phone.

Most of that is avoidable with half an hour of checking. Here is what to do before you pay, and where private investigators fit if it is already too late.

The checks you can do for free

The licence

Arizona requires most contractors to be licensed by the Registrar of Contractors. The ROC runs an online contractor search where you can look up a business by name or licence number and see whether the licence is active, what type of work it covers, and whether there are complaints on file.

Check three things. Is the licence active today? Does the classification match the job (a landscaping licence does not cover a roof)? Is the name on the licence the same as the name on your contract?

There is an exemption for small jobs. Under A.R.S. 32-1121, someone who is not licensed can do certain work if the total project price, labour and materials included, stays under $1,000 and the job needs no building permit, among other conditions. Splitting a larger job into small contracts to dodge that limit is not allowed. If the quote is $8,000, an unlicensed "handyman" is not an option.

The business

Look up the company with the Arizona Corporation Commission's business search. A contractor operating as an LLC should exist there, with a statutory agent and listed members. If it was formed last week, or was dissolved, that is worth a question.

The courts

Search the company name and the owner's name on the Arizona courts' Public Access Case Lookup. You are looking for a pattern: several small claims or civil suits from homeowners, or judgments that were never paid. One old lawsuit is normal for a business. Six in two years is not.

Red flags at the door

A few things should slow you down no matter how good the price sounds:

A large deposit demanded in cash, or before any materials are ordered
No written contract, or a contract with no licence number on it
Pressure to decide today because of a storm, a discount or a crew that is "already in the neighbourhood"
A phone number and first name, and nothing else

None of these proves anything by itself. Together they are a reason to walk away.

When it has already gone wrong

Suppose you paid, and the contractor vanished. What now?

If they were licensed, file a complaint with the Registrar of Contractors. If you want your money back, a lawsuit may be an option: for smaller amounts that is a justice court case, and the county's northwest justice courts share a building at 14264 W. Tierra Buena Ln. in Surprise. Check the county's lookup for the precinct that covers your address. Ask a lawyer what fits.

Both routes run into the same wall, though. You cannot sue someone you cannot find, and you cannot collect from someone whose assets you do not know about.

This is where a licensed private investigator earns their fee. Typical work in a contractor case includes:

Finding the person behind a business name, especially when the company is an LLC that has gone quiet
Locating a current home or business address so they can be served
Identifying other homeowners with the same story, who may be witnesses
After a judgment, researching assets that might be used to collect

A private investigator cannot pretend to be a customer to get financial information, access bank records, or make threats. They gather facts legally and give you a report your lawyer can use.

The last step

If the contractor needs to be served with your lawsuit, our article on serving papers when the El Mirage address is out of date covers what happens next. You can find private investigators who work this area on the El Mirage private investigators page. Every private investigator listed on Served & Found in Arizona is a member of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators. Our guide to verifying an Arizona private investigator license shows how to check one yourself. More El Mirage guides are on the El Mirage town page.

Before you sign anything, put the licence number from the contract into the ROC search and read what comes back. It takes two minutes.

See the board: everyone in El Mirage · private investigators only.