The first thing you should look for with an electrician is if he or she is licensed to work in the state. Unlicensed electricians can cause a lot of damage to your home. Faulty wiring work can lead to anything from simple inconvenience to the catastrophe of a house fire. The licensing process requires an electrician to go through significant training before he or she is allowed to work as an independent contractor.

You should always get an estimate on work like this. Home automation can be an extensive job that requires lots of man hours and material to complete. The cost can quickly become much larger than you ever thought it could be. Due to this, you should always have the electrician provide you with an estimate before work starts.

Write out a simple document explaining the responsibilities between you and your electrician. This is not a binding legal agreement that will be usable in any court proceedings. It is simply a document that lays out the estimated cost, the scope of the work to be done, and the payment terms you reach with the electrician. A document like this can go a long way toward making things very clear between you and the electrician.