The importance of double checking your builders qualifications
Selecting the right builder for you is often one of the hardest decision you will have to make when it comes to building or renovating your home. BUT imagine what would happen if you selected to work with a builder who didn’t have the legitimate qualifications required to perform the work in question?
Be sure to check your builder is a licensed tradesman. When you are undertaking those initial conversations, ask for their license number. For peace of mind, you can run your own check on the NSW Fair Trading page to make sure that their license is in fact current and up to date.
In New South Wales, a license is required to undertake any residential building work that exceeds $5,000. This includes plumbing, electrical, air conditioning etc irrespective of the cost.
Another ‘warning’ sign that a builder is unlicensed is they will not be able to obtain home warranty insurance to cover your project. This is a requirement before any residential building work should commence. If you were to use an unlicensed builder, you would not be covered by the adequate insurance should something go wrong.
Here is an interesting article on this topic.