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Why Is Hiring Licensed Tradies Important?

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If you are a property owner or a property manager you've probably heard the line "I can do that for half the price." more than once. However, hiring someone who does not have a licence in order to save money is usually an extremely disappointing experience. 

If you are new to property management you might ask yourself "Why hire a licenced contractor when an unlicenced ‘tradie’ can do the same job for less?" In this article, we will provide the answer to this question and we hope that you will understand the importance of always hiring licenced tradies.

A tradesman who undergoes certified training in order to get a licence is usually committed to their trade. By investing their time in learning and developing the necessary skills to get a trade licence, the tradesman guarantees that he can provide quality work.

When hiring someone for a job, you should always look at their trade licence and qualifications first. Are they licenced to do the kind of work that you need them to? In some cases, a contractor might have a licence that restricts them to only do certain jobs.

For instance, a licenced residential builder will usually have the necessary skills to do all sorts of tasks, but he might be restricted to doing a specific job such as decking. By checking their licence and registration you should be able to tell exactly what the contractors can do.

Did you know that for certain jobs you are required by law to hire a licenced tradesman? For example, electrical work can only be carried out by someone who has an electrical worker’s licence in Australia.

 

Why Hire a Licensed Contractor?

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Would you go to an unlicenced dentist? Would you let an unlicenced surgeon perform surgery on you? The answer to these questions is rather obvious. Then why would you hire someone who does not have a license? An electrician, for example, will do electrical work, which can be extremely complicated and if done wrong, it can be a health hazard for you and for your family. As a result, hiring a good electrician can be a complicated process if you are not using a property management platform.

There are still plenty of people who choose to work with unlicenced electricians, plumbers, or builders in order to spend less money. In doing so, customers also run the risk of losing money as unlicenced contractors are more likely to make  mistakes that can be extremely costly in the long run. Additionally, there are many other reasons why you should only hire licenced tradies such as:

 

1. They have proper education, training, and experience.

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A licenced tradesman has most likely gone through extensive testing and training to become licenced and certified by the state. In certain cases, a contractor will be licenced through cities, but regardless of how and where they are licenced, they will know the safety protocols and codes needed to work safely and with a quality assurance.

Furthermore, a licenced electrician, builder, or plumber has trained for an important number of hours, which means that they have more experience and can work more efficiently. It is extremely important for a contractor to have the appropriate education and to continue it throughout their careers because the regulations and codes can change. By being up to date with all these changes, the tradesmen ensure that their work will pass all the inspections and respect safety requirements.

 

2. Licenced tradies have insurance.

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A licenced tradie is generally required to have a liability insurance. If they are insured, tradies can be held responsible for any property damage or personal injury that occurs as a result of their negligence. By hiring unlicenced contractors who are not insured, you hire people who cannot be held accountable for their mistakes.

If unlicenced tradies cause damages to a property or if someone gets injured as a consequence, the homeowners or property managers will be the responsible for all the repairs or medical bills involved. All in all, licenced businesses and tradesmen are required to carry a valid insurance, while unlicenced people are not. Hiring someone who is not insured is simply not worth the risk.

 

3. Licenced contractors can save you money

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Hiring a licenced contractor for your commercial or residential buildings can save you a significant amount of money. Some people tend to think that hiring an unlicenced tradie is cheaper, and this can sometimes be true. However, an unlicenced tradie will have less experience and might make mistakes that can cost you in the long run. If you want to learn how to financially protect yourself and your home, make sure you get your finances in shape before hiring a contractor.

You should pay extra attention to hiring the right contractor if the job needs to pass an inspection. An unlicenced electrician, for example, can mess up the wiring or do things that can result in uncomfortable situations. Additionally, you might also be forced to hire a licenced tradesman to fix the mistakes made by the unlicenced one. Be careful not to waste your money on someone who is not a good fit for the job.

4. Licenced contractors know that safety comes first

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A licenced contractor will always make you and your house’s safety a top priority. This will usually mean that you will not find anything that is only partially fixed or rigged up or anything that might be a fire hazard or cause damage or injury. For a licenced tradesman the property safety protocols are extremely important, so by hiring one you make sure that they will go through the correct procedures and you will have nothing to worry about.

It is difficult to trust an unlicenced tradie to work on your electrical system or plumbing system. Think of all the dangers that can be associated with an improperly grounded electrical wire or a faulty pipe that can damage the structure of the house. These are all mistakes that can be made by amateur tradies. Not to mention that they will not be held responsible, as they probably don’t have insurance.

To sum up, it is extremely important to hire contractors who have the appropriate knowledge, training, and experience to work on your commercial or residential buildings. Hiring people who are inexperienced, who lack training, and who do not have a licence or insurance is an extremely bad decision. A licence is a guarantee that a person has gone through extensive training and that they know how to keep you safe and how to solve your problems efficiently.

Licenced contractors have put in a lot of hard work, have already been tested, and can be held accountable for their mistakes. Additionally, you are required by law to only hire licenced tradies for certain jobs like electrical work or plumbing.

Keep in mind that hiring the right contractor will save you money in the long-run as you will not have to pay for their mistakes. An amateur could end up costing you a lot of money and could damage your house and put you and your family in danger.

If you need help finding a local professional then jump on the Bricks+Agent homeowners hub and post a job. It’s quick, easy and free!

Find a tradie

Topics: Property Management Advice, Repairs & Maintenance, Tradie Advice

Jon Stul

Written by Jon Stul

Having spent over 12 years in the real estate industry covering all facets from residential through to commercial, established and off plan properties and sub-divisions, he has an in depth knowledge of the industry. Stepping out of the industry four years ago and moving interstate to expand a frozen yoghurt chain that has gone from 1 to 4 stores in the time he has been involved. This was recently sold to Made Group. Real estate has always been in his blood and it was a natural fit to start Bricks + Agent given the amount of insight he has into the industry as a whole. Having seen how all different forms of traditional marketing was used to the direction that it is now heading today, we think we have come up with a truly unique proposition that fits into the current state of the property maintenance market.

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