A signature turns a conversation into an obligation. These are the things worth pinning down while you still have leverage, and the county tools that let you check the answers yourself instead of taking anyone's word for it.
Almost every contractor dispute traces back to something that was discussed out loud and never written down. The checking part takes an afternoon. The regret lasts a lot longer.
Operating a home improvement business without a license is illegal in both Nassau and Suffolk. The license is not a formality either. Nassau's Restitution Fund only compensates homeowners holding a final judgment or arbitration award against a licensed contractor who will not pay. Hire outside the system and that safety net does not exist for you.
Ask for the number, then verify it yourself rather than trusting a photo of a certificate. Suffolk publishes a public license and complaint violation lookup where you can search by business name and see complaint history next to license status. Nassau handles verification by phone through the Office of Consumer Affairs at 516-571-2600, where you can also ask about a firm's complaint record.
Worth knowing. Nassau's licensing law does not cover new home construction, and electricians and plumbers are licensed by individual towns and villages rather than the county. On a project mixing several trades, ask who is licensed where. For reference, Ogilvie carries Nassau license H1757000000 and Suffolk license 22885-H.
Every contractor says they are insured. What matters is what happens when you ask for proof in writing. You want two coverages named on the certificate. General liability covers damage to your property. Workers compensation covers injuries to the crew, so an accident on your land does not land in your lap.
A contractor who produces the certificate without hesitation has produced it a hundred times. One who needs to check with somebody, or offers to send it later, is telling you something. Demo Star Demolition makes the same point in their breakdown of the trust signals that separate professional contractors from problems. The reaction to the request is the signal, not the answer itself.
Check that the company name on the certificate matches the name on the proposal. Mismatches usually point to a broker relationship or a shell entity, and that matters if you ever need to file a claim.
Nassau's consumer checklist for home improvement contracts names eight items the paperwork should contain. Read the list once and you will notice how many of them get handled verbally on most jobs.
The one homeowners skip is the lien release. If a contractor collects your money and never pays the lumber yard, the lumber yard can come after your property rather than the contractor. Get it in writing.
This one answer tells you more than almost any other. Nassau's guidance is direct. Avoid a firm that wants a large down payment, and a fair down payment is under 15 percent. Everything after that should release as each phase finishes, with the final payment held back until every problem has been corrected.
A large deposit request is usually one of two things. Either the contractor has cash flow problems and is funding an earlier job with your money, or they are counting on the deposit being big enough that you will not walk when the schedule slips. Neither is your problem to solve. Ogilvie starts construction on a $100 deposit with the rest tied to completed phases, which is what a healthy operation can afford to do.
Allowances are the dollar figures written into the contract for the items you pick later. Cabinetry, countertops, tile, vanities, fixtures. They are also where a low bid quietly becomes an expensive one. A contract with a $4,000 cabinet allowance and one with a $14,000 cabinet allowance can look nearly identical on the bottom line while producing very different kitchens.
Ask for every allowance as a number, and ask which vendors those numbers are based on. Then ask what happens when your selection costs more. On a well run job you get a written change order, priced before the work happens, signed by both parties. Nassau's checklist is blunt about it: agree on a price for any change or extra work, write it into the contract, and have both parties initial it.
The same applies to surprises behind the walls. Older Long Island homes hide knob and tube wiring, undersized headers, and framing that was legal decades back. A contractor who has done enough home extension work in these houses can tell you which surprises are likely on your structure before you sign, rather than discovering them on your dime.
You are responsible for either obtaining the permits or making sure the contractor obtains them, and the contractor is only on the hook if the contract says so. Call your city, village, or town building department to find out what your project requires, then confirm in writing who is filing. Unpermitted work surfaces later, when you sell, when you refinance, or when you file an insurance claim. A second story dormer that never got a certificate of occupancy can stall a closing years afterward.
On timing, get a start date and a completion date written in, because that written date is what triggers the 30 day rule. It also forces a conversation about crew scheduling that most contractors would rather avoid. Ask how many jobs the crew is running at once, whether the trades are in house or brokered out, and how long the subcontractors have worked with the company.
A dormer or extension in Nassau or western Suffolk should run somewhere in the range of 10 to 12 weeks depending on weather and material availability. Quotes of six to nine months usually mean your project is filler between larger ones. You can see what a held timeline produces in our completed project gallery.
Often, yes. The FTC's three day cooling off rule for sales made in your home covers contracts signed at your home or workplace, including when you invited the salesperson over. Your right to cancel for a full refund runs until midnight of the third business day after the sale. Saturday counts as a business day. Sundays and federal holidays do not.
The seller has to tell you about that right at signing, hand you two copies of a cancellation form, and give you a dated copy of the contract explaining it. Cancel by mailing the signed form postmarked before the deadline, and send it certified so you have proof. Once you cancel, the seller has 10 days to refund your money and return any check you signed.
Read the fine print before you rely on it. The rule does not cover work you specifically called the contractor out to repair, emergency work, or contracts finalized at the contractor's own place of business. Nassau adds a practical warning: do not sign in your home if the cancellation notice is not printed in bold on the front of the contract.
A large down payment before any paperwork exists is the oldest pattern in the trade. Nassau's own guidance says walk.
Nobody can price a dormer or an extension from a phone call. A number given sight unseen gets corrected later, at your expense.
Rebates for referring neighbors, using your home as a model, or a price that expires tonight. All of it is sales pressure, not pricing.
If it is not in the contract, it does not exist. Contracts protect the party who wrote them. Get the details printed in.
Tap every line that is true about the paperwork on your table. The unchecked ones are the gaps somebody else gets to fill in later.
Tap the statements that describe the contract you are holding.
Professionals make themselves easy to verify. Problems make verification feel awkward. When you hit that friction, it is information, not rudeness.Ogilvie ContractingFamily Owned and Operated on Long Island for More Than 35 Years
Suffolk County runs a public license and complaint violation lookup where you can search by business name, license number, or address and see complaint history alongside license status. Nassau County handles verification by phone through the Office of Consumer Affairs at 516-571-2600, where staff can confirm the license and describe the firm's complaint record. Operating a home improvement business without a license is against the law in both counties.
Nassau County homeowner guidance says a fair down payment is under 15 percent of the contract price, and advises walking away from firms that want a large one. After the deposit, payments should be released as each phase of work is completed, and the final payment should be held until all problems have been corrected and all subcontractors have been paid.
If the contract was signed at your home or workplace, the FTC cooling off rule generally gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel for a full refund, with Saturday counting as a business day. Send the signed cancellation form by certified mail, postmarked before the deadline. The rule does not cover emergency repairs, work you specifically called the contractor out to perform, or contracts completed at the contractor's own place of business.
As the homeowner, you are responsible for either obtaining the permits or making sure the contractor does, and the contractor is only obligated if the contract says so. Call your town, village, or city building department to confirm what your project requires, then get the answer written into the contract before signing. Unpermitted work can surface later during a sale, a refinance, or an insurance claim.
A lien release clause guarantees that all subcontractors and suppliers will be paid before the job is completed. Without it, a supplier who never got paid by your contractor can place a lien against your property rather than pursuing the contractor. Nassau County lists it among the items that belong in every home improvement contract, and it is one of the easiest protections to request.
Ask for all of it. License numbers, the certificate of insurance, itemized allowances, written change orders, and a completion date you can hold us to. The quote costs nothing and neither does checking.
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