{"id":21016,"date":"2024-05-23T13:14:40","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T17:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?p=21016"},"modified":"2024-05-23T13:14:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T17:14:40","slug":"avoid-scams-after-disaster-strikes-seek-licensed-contractor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2024\/05\/avoid-scams-after-disaster-strikes-seek-licensed-contractor\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoid Scams After Disaster Strikes: Seek Licensed Contractor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Navigating the aftermath of a hurricane can be a lengthy and emotional process that includes evaluating damages and potential reconstruction. Unfortunately, during these challenging times, there is a heightened risk for scammers to exploit those already in a vulnerable situation.<\/p>\n<p>Orange County experts strongly recommend residents to differentiate between licensed and unlicensed contractors before rebuilding to avoid costly mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>Follow these six tips to ensure a safe and seamless hiring process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hire<\/strong> a local contractor. If issues arise, you will know exactly how to track them down.<br \/>\n<strong>Secure<\/strong> a licensed contractor with liability insurance.<br \/>\n<strong>Bid <\/strong>the job to multiple contractors and compare services.<br \/>\n<strong>Review<\/strong> contracts carefully before signing anything.<br \/>\n<strong>Avoid<\/strong> handshake deals altogether.<br \/>\n<strong>Ensure<\/strong> the contractor secures proper permits. Unpermitted work can be costly to a homeowner with fines and reconstruction.<br \/>\n<strong>Confirm<\/strong> references and the contractor\u2019s license. <a href=\"http:\/\/Myfloridalicense.com\">Myfloridalicense.com<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/FastTrack.ocfl.net\">FastTrack.ocfl.net<\/a> are helpful sites. To verify a state license, or report unlicensed activity, visit the Florida Department of Business &amp; Professional Regulation My Florida License webpage.<\/p>\n<p>For questions about permitting requirements and contractor licensing in Orange County, please call the Division of Building Safety at 407-836-5550 or email <a href=\"mailto:ContractorLicensing@ocfl.net\">ContractorLicensing@ocfl.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Navigating the aftermath of a hurricane can be a lengthy and emotional process that includes evaluating damages and potential reconstruction. Unfortunately, during these challenging times, there is a heightened risk for scammers to exploit those already in a vulnerable situation. Orange County experts strongly recommend residents to differentiate between licensed and unlicensed contractors before rebuilding [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":21038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[360,146,706],"class_list":["post-21016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-public-health-safety","tag-building-safety","tag-hurricane","tag-hurricane-season"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Avoid Scams After Disaster Strikes: Seek Licensed Contractor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Orange County experts strongly recommend residents to differentiate between licensed and unlicensed contractors before rebuilding to avoid costly mistakes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2024\/05\/avoid-scams-after-disaster-strikes-seek-licensed-contractor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Avoid Scams After Disaster Strikes: Seek Licensed Contractor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Orange County experts strongly recommend residents to differentiate between licensed and unlicensed contractors before rebuilding to avoid costly mistakes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2024\/05\/avoid-scams-after-disaster-strikes-seek-licensed-contractor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OCFL Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-23T17:14:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iStock-979361870-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Romero\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OrangeCoFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OrangeCoFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Romero\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/avoid-scams-after-disaster-strikes-seek-licensed-contractor\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/avoid-scams-after-disaster-strikes-seek-licensed-contractor\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Romero\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a48aae4d9682c49980e8bfb742c62e4a\"},\"headline\":\"Avoid Scams After Disaster Strikes: Seek Licensed Contractor\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-23T17:14:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/avoid-scams-after-disaster-strikes-seek-licensed-contractor\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":203,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/avoid-scams-after-disaster-strikes-seek-licensed-contractor\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsroom.ocfl.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/iStock-979361870-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Building Safety\",\"Hurricane\",\"hurricane season\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\",\"Public Health &amp; 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