How to Vet a Contractor in Indiana Before You Pay a Dime
Hiring the wrong contractor is one of the most expensive mistakes a homeowner or small-business owner can make — and it’s almost always avoidable with 20 minutes of homework. This is the same checklist we’d run ourselves before handing anyone money.
1. Confirm who they actually are
- Get the legal business name and address, not just a phone number and a truck. A real business will give it to you without hesitation.
- Look them up on the Indiana Secretary of State’s business search (inbiz.in.gov). You’re checking that the business exists, is in good standing, and has been around as long as they claim. A brand-new LLC with a big ad budget isn’t automatically bad — but it’s worth knowing.
- Watch for a name that changes. Businesses that rack up complaints sometimes dissolve and reopen under a new name. If the “10-year-old company” was registered three months ago, ask why.
2. Check licensing and insurance for the actual work
- Indiana licenses specific trades — electricians, plumbers, and HVAC among them — often at the city or county level. For licensed trades, ask for the license number and verify it with the issuing authority.
- Ask for proof of insurance (general liability, and workers’ comp if they have employees). Ask them to have the insurer send a certificate directly to you. If they get cagey, that tells you something.
- Be honest with yourself about scope. Some good, legitimate operators — us included, for computer and camera work — are deliberately not a licensed, insured, on-site contractor. That’s fine for the right job, as long as they say so plainly. The problem is someone who implies they’re licensed and insured when they aren’t.
3. Read reviews like a skeptic
- Look across sources — Google, the Better Business Bureau, Facebook — not just the testimonials on their own site.
- Read the middle reviews (3 stars), not just 1 and 5. They’re usually the most honest.
- Watch for patterns, not one-off complaints: “never showed up,” “price doubled halfway,” “stopped answering after the deposit.” One angry customer is noise; the same complaint ten times is a signal.
- Be suspicious of a wall of identical 5-star reviews posted in the same week. Those get bought.
4. Check public records
- Indiana court records are searchable at public.courts.in.gov/mycase. Look up the business name and the owner’s name for a pattern of lawsuits, mechanic’s liens, or collections. A single case means little; a stack of them from unpaid subs or unhappy customers is a real flag.
- County recorder’s office can show liens filed against properties they’ve worked on.
5. The red flags that should end the conversation
- Large deposit demanded up front, especially in cash, before any work.
- Pressure to decide today or a “discount that expires tonight.”
- No written estimate, or a refusal to put the scope and price in writing.
- Door-to-door “we were in the neighborhood” roofing/driveway pitches after a storm.
- Won’t provide references, a license number, or proof of insurance.
The bottom line
Good contractors expect these questions and answer them without drama. The ones who get offended that you’re checking are telling you exactly what working with them will be like. Take the 20 minutes — it’s the cheapest insurance you’ll ever buy.