New Construction W9 and COI

[Glenn Tucker]

Building a spec home.  Who do you need to have W9's and Certificate of Insurance for?  I understand that all trades need to have these but what about the GC or company doing engineering work?  How do I know who I need to get these docs from?  Located in Virginia

[Nick Marrs]

I'm a structural engineer. Industry standard is to carry $1,000,000 professional & general liability policies (they're not required, but almost every professional qualified to design your home will carry it). I would also check to make sure they're licensed (the engineer/architect should provide this at your request, but you can also look it up online). In most states you only need either a licensed Engineer OR Architect to stamp your plans (not both) so if you are trying to save money you could hire the structural engineer as your licensed design professional and have a less expensive designer work on all the other and have the engineer stamp those sheets if required.  For larger jobs (bigger than a single family) I would recommend getting a licensed Architect and Engineer for each trade (it's worth the extra cost).  Beware of contractors out there who say you don't need a permit or say they will handle everything and never get you stamped drawings / a permit -- many times they won't bother getting the permit and just build.  You get what you pay for. General Contractors are required to be licensed and bonded/insured -- you should certainly ask for both from the General Contractor. No need to send a W-9 unless you are paying for their services as a company on a sub-contractural basis (i.e. you are the GC and you are sub-contracting their services).