Most articles with this title are a sales pitch with a checklist on top. This one is written so you could use it to rule us out, because the things worth checking are the same whoever you call.
Start with insurance, and check it properly
Every contractor says they are insured. The useful step is asking for a certificate of insurance sent directly from their insurer or agent, with your name on it.
That matters because a PDF forwarded by the contractor tells you a policy existed on the day it was issued — not that it is still active. A certificate from the insurer confirms current coverage. Any legitimate operator will arrange this without being difficult about it. Hesitation here is the single most useful warning sign you will get.
Understand what licensing does and does not cover in Georgia
This confuses people, so it is worth being plain.
Georgia does not license “handyman” as a trade. Smaller repair work does not require a residential contractor license, and above a certain size it does. If the job you are describing is substantial — a remodel rather than a repair list — ask directly whether it falls above that threshold and whether they hold the license for it.
Separately, and regardless of job size, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and gas work require their own state licenses. This is not a grey area. A handyman offering to rewire a circuit or move a gas line is telling you something important about how they work.
The right answer to “can you do the electrical too?” is no, followed by a recommendation.
Get the scope in writing before anyone starts
Not a number on its own — what the number covers.
For a repair list that means the jobs named individually. For anything larger it means materials, who supplies them, and what happens if something is found once work has started.
If someone will only give you a verbal figure, that is a decision you are making about how the disagreement will go later.
Be careful about large deposits
A deposit for materials on a sizeable job is normal. A large percentage of the total before any work has happened is not.
The pattern to watch for is a big up-front payment followed by a slow start and a second request for money. If the deposit is mostly covering materials, ask to see the materials.
Ask how they charge
For small jobs there are two models and they suit different situations.
- Per job — predictable, better when you have one clearly defined thing.
- Half day or day rate — better value when you have a list, because travel and setup are paid once rather than per visit.
Neither is a trick. But if you have eleven small jobs and you are being quoted individually for each, you are paying setup eleven times. Ask what the same list costs as one visit.
Also ask whether there is a minimum visit charge. There usually is, and it is the reason batching jobs makes such a difference.
Ask what they will not do
An underrated question. “We do everything” is not reassurance. Nobody does everything, and the tradesperson who says so is either not thinking about it or is willing to attempt work they should be handing on.
Look for local reviews, recent and specific
Reviews that name the job, the town and what went slightly wrong are worth more than a wall of five-star ratings with no detail.
Recent matters too. A good review from four years ago tells you about a business that may have changed hands, changed staff, or stopped doing that kind of work. Check the last twelve months, and look for anywhere in Cherokee County — Woodstock, Canton, Acworth — rather than general Atlanta metro.
Warning signs worth walking away from
- Turned up at your door offering work, or “happened to be in the area”
- Cash only, or a discount conditional on paying cash
- Pressure to decide today, or a price that expires
- No written estimate
- Reluctance to provide insurance details from the insurer
- Offering to handle electrical or gas work themselves
- No fixed address, no local history, no traceable business name
Any one of these on its own might have an explanation. Two or more together is a pattern.
A reasonable way to run the first conversation
You do not need to interrogate anyone. Four questions cover most of it:
- Can your insurer send me a certificate of insurance?
- What does this price include, in writing?
- Is there anything on my list you would not take on?
- Is this quoted per job or as a visit?
How someone answers those four tells you more than a page of credentials.
How we work, for comparison
So you can hold this against the list above rather than take our word for it.
We quote a half day or a full day and say which before we come. We work through your list in the order that matters to you. Anything that turns out to need more than expected, you hear about before we do it. We do not take on licensed electrical or gas work, and we will usually tell you who to call.
There is a minimum visit charge, which is why several jobs in one trip is considerably better value than one job on its own.
Full detail: Handyman Services in Woodstock, GA. If you want a sense of the jobs that come up most around here, we wrote those up separately: 10 common home repairs in Woodstock.
Send your list with a few photographs and we will give you a free estimate — (404) 630-7172.
