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Builder licensing: What consumer needs to knowAny person who can have a “builder” business card printed can construct homes for others in Georgia giving little assurance of competency since no builder licensing program exists. Local governments do an excellent job of zoning, plan approvals and inspections, but these efforts don’t necessarily assure quality. Prospective buyers who don’t do homework in selecting builders sometimes find themselves with serious construction problems, the absence of a written warranty and little recourse for correcting deficiencies. This will change in July thanks to the leadership of the Homebuilders Association of Georgia (HBGA) and legislation passed by the Georgia General Assembly. Residential and commercial contractors will be required to have a license issued by the state effective July 1, 2008. This is good news for the consumer and even better news for most builders. It is horrible news for a few bad apples in the industry. Most home builders are knowledgeable about construction and dedicated to providing the best possible product at a reasonable cost. They want incompetent, unscrupulous and non-committed builders weeded out of the industry. For this reason, builder groups lobbied the legislature to create a state licensing board and succeeded with the passage of legislation in 2005. Leaders in the building industry worked diligently with members of the newly appointed State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors, board staff, attorneys, legislators, and private testing companies to develop and fine tune the licensing program. The program is nearing completion with some work still to be done. The law permitted builders to petition for residential contractors licenses prior to July by submitting a detailed application documenting experience and competence. Approximately 2,000 individuals and companies reflecting more than 20 percent of the applicants were turned down. Does this tell you something? My conclusion is that the standards are strict and the board means business. Those who apply for a license after July 1, 2008, must meet experience requirements and pass a tough written examination. Here is how the new program works. The law prohibits cities and counties in Georgia from issuing building permits to unlicensed builders effective July 1, 2008. The only exception is the individual who has the time and expertise to build or remodel his or her own personal residence. Unlicensed individuals may build one home for themselves every two years. Bob Barnard, past president of the HBAG, and a second generation builder/remodeler, does a number of projects in Fayette and adjoining counties each year. Barnard provided significant leadership in the movement to achieve builder licensing and is a member of the licensing board. He cautions that “individuals who pull their own permits should not hire an unlicensed contractor to supervise the job. That would be a clear violation of the law.” Barnard makes a good point. It is ill-advised to help an unlicensed contractor or builder by becoming the general contractor and hiring the unlicensed person to supervise the work. This creates a broad range of liability issues which can place the buyer in jeopardy. Anyone who reads the lien laws and understands worker’s compensation insurance requirements will promptly eliminate this illegal option. The first thing prospective buyers of new homes should do is check the licensing database by visiting the Secretary of State website, selecting the professional licensing section and looking under “residential contractors.” The public will soon have access to a list of individual contractors and building companies that are licensed. There will be information about the number and nature of complaints investigated and eventually information about disciplinary action taken by the licensing board against specific builders. The second task of a prudent new home buyer is to check references and look at homes the builder has recently constructed. There are a number of other due diligence things to do, including reviewing a copy of the builder’s warranty program. State law requires that residential contractors offer a written one-year warranty on new homes effective July 1, 2008. I strongly recommend that you look for another builder if a written warranty is not offered. The space in this column does not allow a full discussion of the perils of dealing with an unlicensed residential contractor after July 1, 2008. My advice is to stick with the law and do business with someone who meets licensing requirements. I have a few random and unrelated thoughts to share with readers: • It is puzzling that the state legislature adjourned without passing tax relief promised by so many politicians. Was it deliberate or just plain dysfunctional? The public is disappointed and several legislators may lose in the November elections as a result of voter unhappiness. There are rumors of a potential uprising in the House and a new Speaker of the House with the skills of Tom Murphy is a refreshing thought. Like him or not, Murphy maintained control and negotiated with the Senate and governor to resolve issues and bring about meaningful legislation. • The new commitment from the Peachtree City Police Department to patrol the golf cart paths is a good thing. The best place to start is by trying to catch those who paint graffiti in the tunnels, especially the Ga. Highway 54 tunnel near McDonald’s. I also hope they catch the youngster who has been shooting a BB gun at golf carts off Georgian Parkway behind the Kedron Field House. Underage driving is also a big problem. • State Senator Ronnie Chance received undeserved criticism about the Clayton students vs. Fayette County fiasco. Senate Bill 458 was placed in the hopper by the Republican leadership as election year window dressing to appease private school supporters in an election year. There was open knowledge around the capitol that it was to die in the irrelevant House Science and Technology Committee, making the Senate vote a moot point. After the firestorm, Representative Matt Ramsey did a great job of seeing that the head of the serpent was completely severed, and SB 458 never saw the light of day again. • What happened to the state investigation of the Fayette County Department of Family and Children Services triggered by state Representative Virgil Fludd? He was wrong on the ill-conceived district voting legislation, but he got this one right. This is not a racial issue as reported by the anonymous blogging community. There are rumors that whites and blacks are treated equally bad and that somebody needs to do something about the bullies in that office. The public needs to see an unbiased report to determine the real truth. Our children need to be protected. • Thanks to Rick Viall for meeting with me face to face to explain his opposition to my last column about automobile insurance rates. He made some good points, and you had an opportunity to read them in his letter to the editor. Viall is chair of the Government Affairs Committee of the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia and a resident of Fayette County. His candor is appreciated. • I recently had breakfast in Peachtree City with five young marines from a Camp LeJeune reconnaissance unit on their way to Jump School at Fort Benning. Corporal Neil Quinn, a Starr’s Mill graduate, is in the group. They already had extensive training in other areas and will soon ship out to begin the dangerous and secretive work assigned to Marine “Recon guys” in the war against terror. The young men were delightful evidence that our military is in good hands, and I hope you will join me in praying for their safety. Semper Fidelis. [Scott Bradshaw is a real estate developer, resident of Peachtree City and active in the community. He is chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Homebuilders Association of Midwest Georgia, a member of the West Village Impact Fee Advisory Committee, and a former member of the Development Authority of Peachtree City. His email is rand5474@bellsouth.net.] login to post comments | Scott Bradshaw's blog
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