How important is it for your GC to be licensed and insured?

[Nick Brubaker]

Today is my last day of due diligence on my first flip property.  My real estate agent referred me to an experienced GC.  I like him and am confident he is reliable enough and would do good work, but I found out today that he is not licensed (previous license expired) or insured.  Also, some of his subcontractors are not residing here legally.  Is this an obvious no go on this contractor?  If so, do others here (I'm in Atlanta) have good GC's they can recommend?  I am also wondering if I could have a lawyer draft a waiver to eliminate any of my liability for accidents and what not on the job.  

[Aaron McGinnis]

If you're hiring work that needs a license, get a licensed contractor. Your liability is enormous and no amount of waiver will waive away your responsibility for accidents or other problems... not to mention that without a license, you won't be getting permits... which exposes you to a whole lot of potential mess.

Shame on your agent for recommending an unlicensed contractor. I bet the agent would be livid if someone recommended an unlicensed individual practicing real estate.

... and on that note, if your quotes to date have only come from contractors that the agent recommended, you need to find a way to extend your diligence and get third party opinions. There's a number of very shady agent/wholesalers in Atlanta who have sucker punched more than one new investor by selling them property predicated on repair estimates coming from contractors that the agent controls.