J Serven and Son Construction

J Serven and Son Construction lists an address on Atlantic Avenue in Marblehead and, in its own Houzz copy, says it has been building, remodeling and renovating homes and commercial space since 1984. That founding date and that range of work are the company's own claims, not anything checked here. Set against them is one harsh account on an open listing site, in which the writer accuses the owner of collecting money for jobs he never completes. It carries no date, and a single anonymous complaint is not a verdict on a forty-year-old firm — but it is the only thing written about the company in public that the company did not write itself, and it is pointed enough to take seriously. Houzz shows a single project in the gallery and no reviews. So do the checking the public record cannot do for you. Ask for the addresses of two jobs finished in the past year and call those owners; confirm the Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration and construction supervisor licence with the state yourself; and tie the payment schedule to completed, inspected milestones in writing before anyone starts.