Investor · Bronx, NY · Member since 2016 · 78 posts · 40 votes
Called several electricians to do a service change at my house (add a meter and separate basement and first floor circuits) - a job that requires pulling a permit with DOB.
Each time I ask for proof of license, electrician says something like "We sign contracts, You give deposit, I pull permit" and doesn't address license.
This has happened to me 3 or 4 times.
How are these electricians pulling permits if they are unlicensed?
How important is it that an electrician is licensed if he has a way of pulling permit?
Why are there so many unlicensed electricians in NYC that show up on angies list, home advisor, etc. as "verified"?
They probably pay someone with the license to pull the permits and pay them a fee. It may matter and it may not but there's potential risks. The unlicensed guy might not know what he's doing. This is illegal so the person who's pulling the permits might get their license suspended during your job in which case you would need someone else to close the job. The upside is it's probably cheaper
Not worth it in my opinion. The whole point of pulling a permit is that the work is done to code. Most people likely don't pull permits but if the DOB somehow inspects your place and sees work that was unpermitted then you get a fine and likely have to redo the job.
I'm going through the exact same thing. I found a GC I like. But the electrician and plumber he recommended are not licensed. And tbh I'm torn. For GC I could live with not having the license so long as there is coverage. But the electric and plumbing is really giving me bad vibes. And I tried to find multiple electricians. All of them unlicensed. All the verifiably licensed ones ghost on me after we speak on the phone. Whats going on...