· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Handyman Service
Tennessee’s Attorney General says home improvement scams top the list of consumer complaints that reach his office’s Division of Consumer Affairs, and the same release counts 884 complaints made to the state Board for Licensing Contractors in 2024. A small job can go wrong in plainer ways, with a call that never gets returned or a repair left half done. Some of that is the trade, and some of it is how the work is set up, which is the part you control.
What should you check before hiring a handyman?
Start with insurance, on paper. The state’s consumer advice is to ask for the contractor’s certificates for workers’ compensation, damage and general liability, showing a current effective date, according to the Attorney General and the Department of Commerce and Insurance. A copy handed over by the person you are hiring is the weakest form of that proof. The labor department tells contractors who hire other contractors to never accept a certificate directly from the other contractor and to confirm coverage with the insurance agent, and the Department of Commerce and Insurance warns that whoever holds a certificate may not be told when the policy is cancelled. Our post on what an insurance certificate actually proves walks through the call to the agent.
If anyone is coming with them, ask whether that person is covered. For a construction business, the labor department’s construction page requires workers’ compensation from the first employee, part-time, seasonal and family help included. Then check the business itself the way the Attorney General’s office suggests: license status on Verify.tn.gov, the Secretary of State’s business search, and a county business license, which the same release says construction contractors generally need once annual gross receipts pass $3,000.
Then ask what they do not do. A state contractor’s license is needed before bidding on a project of $25,000 or more, and for smaller work the Attorney General’s office says to ask the local building codes office whether home improvement, electrical, plumbing or HVAC work needs a state or local license. In our experience, a handyman who names those limits plainly is easier to rely on than one who says yes to everything, and what a handyman cannot legally do here shows where the lines fall.
How should a handyman job be set up?
Write the list, agree what is in scope, and agree how surprises are priced before work starts. Contractors who will not give a written estimate or a contract should be avoided, and the state’s guidance says a contract should spell out start and completion dates, payment terms, allowances, materials, labor, change orders and warranty. For a handyman visit that can fit on one page. The change-order line is the one people skip, and it is the written answer to what happens when a wall comes open and the rot runs further than anyone guessed.
Put the payment terms in writing as well. A deposit toward materials ordered for your house is a reasonable thing to agree to. Full payment before any work is done is a red flag, and Tennessee’s home improvement law bars a contractor from asking for more than one-third down; the same advice says to keep payments from getting ahead of the work and never to pay in cash.
- Insurance certificates with a current date, confirmed with the agent
- A written list agreed before starting
- Agreed hourly or flat rate, and what is billable
- How surprises are priced, as a written change order
- No more than one-third down, and payments that stay behind the work
Being a client they keep
We can only speak for our own schedule, but the visits that run smoothly share a few things. The list is clear, the rooms are cleared, somebody can let us in, and the invoice is paid when the work is finished. That makes the next visit an easy one to book.
Batching work into worthwhile visits helps too. A half-hour job across town is hard for anyone to fit between larger ones, so we would rather keep a running list of general repairs and work through it in one trip than make three short ones.
When it goes wrong
Raise it while they are still on site, and take a photo of anything you are unhappy with. A fault is easier to put right before the tools are packed, and a dated picture settles more than anyone’s memory of the day. We would rather hear about it before we leave.
For larger jobs, keep the written scope, the contract and the payment record; the state tells consumers to retain a copy of the contract. If it becomes a dispute you cannot settle, that release sends licensing complaints to the Board for Licensing Contractors and complaints about deceptive business practices to the Division of Consumer Affairs. If a job someone else started needs finishing, send us the list and we will look at what is left.
Sources
- Tennessee Attorney General and Department of Commerce and Insurance, tips to help consumers avoid home improvement fraud (March 20, 2025) — Home improvement scams top the Division of Consumer Affairs’ complaints; 884 Board complaints in 2024; insurance certificates with a current effective date; Verify.tn.gov, Secretary of State and county business license checks; $3,000 county license threshold; $25,000 state license threshold; written contract contents including change orders; one-third down-payment limit; no cash; keep the contract; where to complain.
- Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Certificate of Insurance — Contractors should not take a certificate straight from another contractor and should confirm the coverage with the insurance agent; written for contractors hiring subcontractors.
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Workers Compensation Insurance Information — A certificate holder may not be notified when coverage is cancelled or non-renewed; the Bureau’s coverage verification tool; the up-the-ladder rule names contractors and subcontractors.
- Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Construction (Who Must Carry Insurance) — Construction employers with one or more employees must carry workers’ compensation, including part-time, seasonal and family employees.
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Verify.tn.gov license search — The free license-status search the Attorney General’s release points consumers to before hiring.
FAQ
Finding a Handyman Who Turns Up — questions
Should I pay a handyman a deposit?
A deposit toward materials is reasonable, particularly for anything ordered specifically for your house. Tennessee’s home improvement law bars a contractor from asking for more than one-third down, and the Attorney General’s office lists a demand for full payment up front as a warning sign. After the deposit, keep payments behind the work rather than ahead of it, and do not pay in cash.
How do I check a handyman is insured?
Ask for certificates of insurance showing a current effective date, then call the insurance agent to confirm the policy is in force, since a person holding a certificate may not be told when coverage is cancelled. If they bring a helper, ask about workers’ compensation too: Tennessee requires a construction business to cover even one employee. The state’s rule on who pays when an uninsured worker is hurt is written for contractors and subcontractors, so if you are unsure where a homeowner stands, ask your own insurance agent before the work starts.
Why do handymen not return calls?
We can only answer for ourselves. A short, specific list, ideally with a photo or two, is quicker to price and schedule than a vague request, and several small tasks grouped into one visit make better use of the drive. If someone never calls back at all before any money changes hands, that tells you something useful about how the job would have gone.
What should a handyman contract include?
Tennessee’s consumer guidance lists start and completion dates, payment terms, allowances, materials, labor, change orders and warranty. On a small job, all of it fits on a single page. Don’t skip the change-order line: it puts in writing what happens when a wall comes open and the rot runs further than anyone expected.