Posted by Sherm on March 06, 2010 at 10:08:44:
In Reply to: suggestions for wording repairman ad posted by Brenda (OH) on March 01, 2010 at 19:51:20:
You have to decide whether you want a professional or a handyman. Your comment about them having insurance and tools and a truck are hallmarks of professionals but not necesasarily of handymen.A contractor with insurance and appropriate tools and transportation will require at a minimum of 30.00 and hour or more depending on your location.
Handymen do not consider the real cost of being in business, therefore they are somewhat undependable and constantly operating on the edge. Now consider what would happen if the brother in law of the trailer park resident, started working for you and got hurt on your job. Since you are in the mobile home "business" that policy on the trailer will not protect you. His injury will open up your personal assets to his lawsuit. Suddenly his 10.00 an hour does not look so cheap. Usually in construction type injuries the plaintiff will sue not only the general contractor he is working for but the owner of the property. I was just thinking in the case of a lonnie dealer working a park and their handyman gets hurt, does this also open up the park owner to liability? Even though Lonnie Dealers are not required to be licensed, holding ourselves out to be "in the business" makes us liable in ways a homeowner is not.
Many people play russian roulette daily on insurance issues and get away with it, but some do not. You really need to get legal and insurance advice on this before you go any further. I have seen this first hand with a man that I know that had been building spec houses. A man that was working for him by the hour and not covered by comp fell off of a scaffold and broke his back. The contractor lost his nearly complete paid for house in the lawsuit as well as a 50 acre farm unrelated to the accident. Cheap comes with a price.