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After the storm: find licensed local pros

When a storm hits Sarasota, Bradenton, or Venice, two things show up: the damage — and the out-of-town crews who chase it.

They roll in with out-of-state plates, knock on doors, take a deposit, and are gone before the work fails. Some have no Florida license at all. The pros who live here can't run — their name, their number, and their neighbors are here. This page helps you hire those pros, and check any pro's license free before money changes hands.

Need help right now? Call a local pro direct

Immediate danger — sparking or wet electrical work, a downed line, a tree on the house: call 911 or your power company first. When it's safe, these Sarasota pros put their real number up front — tap to call:

☎ Tap to call — Roofing: Bone Dry Roofing · (941) 343-5622

☎ Tap to call — Tree Service: Jason & Sons Countreewide Tree Service LLC · (941) 718-1331

☎ Tap to call — Electrical: Ace Electric · (941) 362-4508

☎ Tap to call — Plumbing: Plumbing Express · (941) 355-8422

Outside Sarasota, or a different trade? Pick your trade below — every trade page lists each town's pros with tap-to-call numbers, no forms and no middleman.

What IGotAPro is — and what it isn't

We do not vet or background-check the pros listed here, and a listing isn't a guarantee. Here's what you do get: every listing shows the pro's real phone number, right up front — no forms, no middleman. Listed numbers are checked and stamped with the date they were last verified. Reviews here are written by homeowners, and a pro can answer one but can never edit, hide, or delete it. And for work that requires a Florida license, you can check that license yourself, free, on the state's own record — it takes about two minutes.

Storm work, trade by trade

Tap a trade to see the local pros listed for it — real numbers up front, so you can call or text them yourself.

Roofing→Leaks, missing shingles, tarping, full roof repair and replacement. Roofing requires a Florida license — check it below. Tree Service→Downed trees, broken limbs over the house, dangerous leaners after high wind. Electricians→Dead panels, storm-surge damage, generator hookups, sparking or water in outlets. Electrical work requires a Florida license. Plumbing→Burst pipes, flooding from a broken line, shut-offs, water heaters. Plumbing requires a Florida license. Windows & Doors→Blown-out windows, damaged doors, storm shutters and impact glass. Fence Services→Blown-down fences, gates, and pool safety fencing knocked flat by wind. Gutter Services→Torn-off gutters, clogged downspouts, water pouring where it shouldn't. Air Conditioning / HVAC→AC units knocked out by surge or floodwater, duct damage. AC work requires a Florida license. Pool Cleaning & Repair→Pools full of storm debris, green water, damaged pumps and cages. Junk & Debris Removal→Hauling away storm debris, ruined furniture, and yard wreckage. Pressure Washing→Storm grime, algae, and flood residue on driveways, lanais, and siding. Handyman→The small stuff a storm leaves behind — screens, soffits, drywall patches, doors that won't close. (Structural, electrical, and plumbing work still needs a licensed pro.)

Or browse by town: Sarasota · Bradenton · Venice · Lakewood Ranch · Parrish

Water inside the house from a broken pipe or failed water heater? Start with a plumber to stop the source, then a remodeling pro for the repairs that follow.

Before you hand anyone a deposit: the 2-minute license check

For roofing, plumbing, electrical, AC, and building work, Florida requires a state license. After a storm is exactly when unlicensed crews do the most damage — so this is the one check that matters most, and it's free:

Copy the pro's name. It's right on their IGotAPro listing — or ask the pro for their license number. Licensed pros put it on their truck, their quote, and their invoices.
Open the free state check and paste it in. The record lives on the State of Florida's official site (myfloridalicense.com) — not here, and not on any site a pro controls.
Read three things: the status says "Current, Active," the name on the license matches the person you're hiring, and the expiration date is in the future. Anything else — "Delinquent," "Suspended," "Revoked" — means stop.

Walk me through the free license check → Or go straight to the state's license search

🚩 Post-storm red flags — slow down if you see these

They knocked on your door. Legit local pros are booked solid after a storm — they don't need to hunt door to door. Door-knockers are usually the traveling crews.
Big cash deposit demanded up front, or the full amount before work starts. Real businesses with real overhead don't work that way.
"Sign today or the price goes up." Pressure is the product when the work can't sell itself.
No license number, or one that belongs to somebody else. Borrowed licenses are a classic post-storm scam — run the check above.
Out-of-state plates and no local address. When the work leaks in six months, there will be nobody to call.
No written quote. Get the scope and price in writing before anything starts, whoever you hire.

Found unlicensed activity? The state takes reports at 1-866-532-1440 and on the DBPR site linked above.

Local pros. Real numbers. Reviews nobody can hide.

That's the whole idea behind IGotAPro. Homeowners write the reviews here, and pros can answer them — but a pro can never edit, hide, or delete a review, and no payment buys a better rating. On IGotAPro, payment buys placement, never ratings.

Find a local pro → Check a license — free →

Find a local pro — every pro lists a real phone number, right up front. Check a license — two minutes on the state's own record, explained in plain English.

IGotAPro is a private directory, not a state agency, and this page is general information, not legal advice. A directory listing is not an endorsement, and it is not a substitute for checking a license and reading reviews yourself. License records change daily — the official record at myfloridalicense.com is the only one that counts. If anything here and the state record disagree, trust the state record.