Foreclosure Climate Leads to Sprouting of Unlicensed Contractors

Posted on November 18, 2009
Filed Under foreclosure | Leave a Comment

The foreclosure climate has led to sprouting of many nefarious doings – one being the activities of unlicensed contractors. One such person has been caught by BSO agents disguised as owner of foreclosed home.

Posed as a father who is buying a house for his daughter, the two of them consulted a contractor discussing the repair of the gutted kitchen and other renovations. The contractor had been contacted online. The father jotted down the details of the jobs and the price when two officials in bullet proof vests stormed in shouting, “Broward Sheriff’s Office.” The contractor who was without a licence was placed in handcuffs and taken away.
BSO deputies (Professional Regulation staff) had disguised themselves as a father and daughter pair repairing a foreclosed house. They were asked to offer bids for the house in Cooper City.

The same types of operations are being carried on across the state recently – the concentration being in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. The state agency organizes such crackdowns every quarter to nab unlicensed contractors. 19 professions are named on its regulatory list.

Detective Daniel Belvue of BSO said, “We try to stick to people doing work that could cause safety issues. If you improperly install exterior doors, they could blow in during a hurricane.”

In these two counties the residents had filed as many as 603 and 141 complaints about unlicensed construction and electrical contractors respectively in 2008. With the economy slumping further the regulators are expecting more such nefarious activities. Unemployment is pushing people over the edge. The unemployed are hunting or any kind of odd jobs and the home owners are likewise seeking cheap contract rates.
Belveu is himself a licensed contractor. He took on the role of the parent and had previously been wired to tape the conversation. The BSO got the necessary permission to set the stage in an empty foreclosed house. The main room was fitted with secret video cameras that were monitored by other officials hiding in the bathroom.

The arrested man was charged and ordered to stop taking on jobs until they got a licence. They were instructed about how to apply for the same.

The authorities had a dual purpose in operating these raids – to bring home the message to the professionals that they must register themselves or face trouble, as well as to warn the house owners of the dangers of employing unlicensed contractors.

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