Before hiring a contractor and wiring major funds, there are a few simple checks every homeowner should run to avoid getting burned. We’ve recently helped a few customers avoid getting swindled by construction contractors and felt we should share.
A Boolean query is just a smarter way to search online by combining keywords with simple connectors like AND, OR, and quotes to get more accurate results. Instead of typing a basic search like "Bobby Smith fraud," you can structure it to look for multiple versions of a name and multiple types of issues at the same time.
1. Verify the license
Start with the basics—make sure their license is real and valid for the work they’re claiming to do, because if you can’t verify it, that’s an immediate red flag.
2. Confirm the business entity
Identify their business as a current registered entity via something free like OpenCorporates, as well as state business registries. Homeowners could also look up tax filings on the SEC website. The struggle here is that none of these sites will likely produce information on business liens or court actions.
3. Search for liens, lawsuits, and complaints
For liens and court actions, homeowners can create strong Boolean queries in Google like:
"<business name>" AND ("fraud" OR "lawsuit" OR "court" OR "allegation" OR "complaint" OR "scam" OR "charged" OR "arrested" OR "indicted" OR "convicted" OR "sentenced" OR "investigation" OR "illegal" OR "violation" OR "disciplinary action" OR "revoked license" OR "suspended license" OR "consumer complaint" OR "ripoff" OR "bad review" OR "BBB complaint" OR "lawsuit filed" OR "civil case" OR "criminal case" OR "wanted for" OR "warrant") AND ("Virginia" OR "VA" OR "<City Name>" OR "<County Name>" OR "DC" OR "Maryland") AND ("contractor" OR "construction" OR "home improvement" OR "renovation" OR "remodeling" OR "builder")
Run a few variations—one with full name, one with just first + last, and one with company name + owner name. That’s usually where better results show up.
4. Search the contractor’s name and aliases
Perform a similar search on the contractor’s name:
("<Full Name>" OR "<Alias 1>" OR "<Alias 2>" OR "<Nickname>" OR "<Company Owner Name>") AND ("fraud" OR "lawsuit" OR "court" OR "allegation" OR "complaint" OR "scam" OR "charged" OR "arrested" OR "indicted" OR "convicted" OR "sentenced" OR "investigation" OR "illegal" OR "violation" OR "disciplinary action" OR "revoked license" OR "suspended license" OR "consumer complaint" OR "ripoff" OR "bad review" OR "BBB complaint" OR "lawsuit filed" OR "civil case" OR "criminal case" OR "wanted for" OR "warrant") AND ("Virginia" OR "VA" OR "<City Name>" OR "<County Name>" OR "DC" OR "Maryland") AND ("contractor" OR "construction" OR "home improvement" OR "renovation" OR "remodeling" OR "builder")
5. Check the BBB
Search for the business and the contractor on the BBB website.
Public records are usually free if you know where to look
There’s no real way around paywalls for lien data, but most of that information comes from public records you can access directly if you know where to look. Start with county clerk or recorder websites, state court systems, and Secretary of State UCC filings—these are often free to search and will surface liens, judgments, and disputes.
If something looks off, a quick call to the clerk’s office or a small fee for documents can usually confirm what’s actually going on. Backgrounder can help perform this quicker if it saves you time.