When I was younger, I was happy to hire a friend or family member for personal work. If I needed mechanical repairs on my car, I always took it to my cousin who lived a few miles away from my family home. Even though he had only been a professional mechanic for a few years at that point, he always did a fantastic job with the cars he worked on. My parents started taking their cars to him as well. And whenever we needed plumbing work done, we walked next door and asked our neighbor who owned a plumbing and electrical company. Even when we tried to pay full price, he always gave us a considerable discount. However, this stroke of good luck eventually came to an end. Years later, I made a huge error hiring a close friend for an air conditioner installation. He was working as an apprentice for his father, but wasn’t professionally certified as an HVAC technician. Because of the savings, I put my greed above my better judgement. I learned the hard way why you should never hire a family member, let alone someone who is uncertified, to do serious heating and cooling work in your home. He ended up installing the air conditioner improperly and didn’t balance the pressure for the refrigerant. The compressor outside failed within the first month. And since I used an uncertified technician to do the installation, the air conditioner manufacturer said my warranty was voided. I have to eat the cost of getting a new compressor and pray that the air handler doesn’t fail next.