Beware! Karl Allen came and gave me a verbal estimate (very pricey). I shook his hand and thanked him for coming by. End of conversation. Three weeks later he shows up at my door to tell me he's ready to start work and that he'd already pulled a permit!

I politely explained that I was going with a different contractor. He repeated that he'd already paid for a permit and when asked why he thought we had an agreement his reply was that we'd shaken hands. I explained that all the other companies I'd requested estimates from had emailed me an estimate as well as details regarding materials etc... Then for a third time he told me he'd already paid for a permit, implying I should reimburse him. I couldn't quite figure out if he was that confused, or if it was a deliberate scam attempt.