Housing Tip of the Week - Avoid Scamming Contractors

Housing Tip of the Week!

This week's Housing Tip of the Week is to be careful and watch out for scammers who promise to work on your home, take your money, but do not finish the job. Recently a few constituents, particularly older adults, have had this problem.

To avoid it, always ask the contractor if they are licensed with the State of Maryland and Baltimore City, and ask for their license number. Having a valid contractor license lets you know they have been vetted and are skilled. They can be held accountable. While your friend may have a friend who is a contractor, if they are not licensed, do not use them. If you see a flyer to advertise services and there it does not have a license number on it, that should be your first clue! Simply do not use them or anyone else that is not a licensed contractor to do work on your home.

Recently, the scamming contractor handing out flyers in our district is called SM Masonry and Contracting. They scammed an older adult in our district with promises they would fix the roof. They collected the money first and then did not do the work. The flyer does not have a license number on it. Do not use this contractor, but most importantly make sure to ask any contractor offering to do work for their license number.