Shaky Foundations: A Homeowner’s Guide to Contractor Scams

Hosts Mikki Paradis and Jessica Abreu open with a “chicky chat” recap of Mikki babysitting Jess’s kids, including an Uno-cheating incident and the kids texting their parents throughout the night. They then share a homeowner horror story from Sam in South Carolina, who hired a referred contractor to enclose a patio into a sunroom for $42,000 without getting other quotes or verifying a license. After failed inspections, repeated upcharges for rework, delays, and being asked basic planning questions on site, Sam discovered the contractor wasn’t licensed and was allegedly “working under” someone else’s license before ghosting. Sam hired a licensed contractor to redo and finish the project for $28,000 more, stretching the timeline to nearly a year, and the hosts stress that verifying a contractor’s license is the bare minimum step to avoid being scammed.00:00 Verify That License00:34 Babysitting Chaos Recap04:28 Uno Cheating Meltdown06:58 Kids Texting The Parents10:21 Dogs Yes Kids No10:47 Homeowner Horror Stories Setup13:14 Sam Sunroom Plan Begins14:27 Contractor Jargon Red Flags19:36 Deposit And Demo Start21:45 Footing Inspection Fails23:08 Inspectors And The Double Dip Scam30:10 Paying For Rework No Way30:39 Call the Inspector31:33 Framing Red Flags32:05 Failed Header Inspection35:15 Engineered Beam Upcharge36:05 Delays and No Shows39:07 Subs Asking Homeowner41:40 License Check Discovery44:39 Confrontation and Ghosting48:14 Damage Control Strategy50:34 Hiring a Real Contractor52:48 Costly Finish and Lessons54:25 Verify Licenses Always56:32 Qualifier License Explained01:01:21 Wrap Up and Share StorySubmit your homeowner horror story:www.chicksinconstruction.comFollow on Social Media:www.instagram.com/chicksinconstructionpodcastwww.facebook.com/chicksinconstructionpodcastwww.linkedin.com/company/chicksinconstructionpodcastwww.youtube.com/@ChicksInConstruction________________Love what you hear?Subscribe to Chicks in Construction and share this episode with your friends because every homeowner, builder, contractor, and designer needs to hear this one!