I'd ask neighbors & long time residents for recommendations for a mason. Word-of-mouth is priceless in some inner-city neighborhoods. Sometimes you wind up with people who enjoy & specialize in working on old houses & even better if they live in the area.

That happened to me too. You need to consider what's causing the brick to pull away, so that you solve that problem with your fix. In my case, the brick started coming away from the wall along the front of my house, in KCMO, due to settling pressure. I paid a mason to re-brick it, as a side job, on his evenings and weekends. It took about a month and I paid about a thousand dollars per 50 square foot section (three sections). I looked at the anchors and chose to re-brick instead, tho it was more. The guy was referred to me by a satisfied customer. Antiquesilver's right, ask around, ask homeowners, reputable realtors, other tradesmen who are good. They know who else is good in different fields. I have some experience remodeling and flipping houses and I always find it's worth it to pay more for a quality job that will last. (And to get guys who will show up and finish on time.) Think long and hard about siding, because cheaper siding, like vinyl, can actually hurt your home's value. Brick is one of the most valuable, long-lasting materials, and returns more on a house than most other sidings.