 1) Does he have a license? Make sure the contractor has a California state license. He must display his license number on his business card, in his ads, on any signs promoting his business, on his website and on his bids and contracts. 2) Is his license valid? Check the license number online at www.cslb.ca.gov or by calling (800) 321-2752. Sometimes a contractor may have a license number but has had his license suspended or revoked. You can find out the status of his license by checking with the CSLB (California State License Board). Ask to see the contractor’s pocket license and a picture ID to ensure that the person you are dealing with is indeed the contractor whose license number appears on the paperwork.  3) How does his bid compare? Get at least three written bids. Compare the bids. Do the bids include everything you are expecting to have done on the job? Do they include exact and detailed specifications for the materials and fixtures that you want? If something is not included in the written bid, then you could be charged extra for it later or you might get an inferior product substituted for the one you verbally specified.  4) Can he give you references? Don’t be afraid to ask each bidder for the names, addresses and phone numbers of at least three previous customers. If the contractor is reputable, he will give you this information. Call the references and ask them how they felt about their remodeling experience. Did the contractor answer their questions? How did he handle any problems that come up during the job? Was the job site kept clean? Was the job completed on time? Are they happy with the finished product?  5) Is everything in writing? Once you accept a bid, make sure that everything is in writing and included in the contract. Read the contract and make sure that you understand all the terms. 6) Does he have workers’ compensations insurance? The contractor must have workers’ compensation insurance for his employees. If he doesn’t, this could put you at risk legally. Some general contractors don’t have employees. They hire sub-contractors (plumbers, drywall, insulation, masonry, etc.) to do the work. In this case, make sure that the sub-contractors are carrying workers’ comp for their people. 7) Is he asking for the legal deposit amount? The contractor will ask you for a deposit. By law, he is not permitted to receive more than 10% of the total cost of the job or $1,000, whichever is less. Never pay a contractor in cash. 8) Does he provide and stick to a payment schedule? Ask the contractor for a payment schedule. This will show the progressive phases of the work and how much you are being charged for each phase. Only pay what the contractor is owed based on what had been completed.  9) Are there unhandled problems during the progress of the job? Create a file for the job. Keep all paperwork in this file. During the job, it is a good idea to keep a record of all verbal agreements between you and the contractor and/or job supervisor. Check back to make sure these are met. If it is a big job, keep a daily log of everything that occurs that you might want to reference later. Note all problems and track when, how and if they were handled.  10) Is he interested in your complete satisfaction? Once the job is done, take the time to do a thorough walk-through, inspecting the job for anything that might not be to your COMPLETE satisfaction.
Do not make the final payment to the contractor until he has handled any and all issues found during this inspection. If he is an ethical person, he will be more than happy to oblige. He should even offer to give you a one-year warranty on his work, meaning that if you find anything wrong within one year of completion, he will fix it at no cost to you.
43 Comments
6/9/2021 05:03:32 am
Apresentar solucoes de decoracao que encaixem harnoniisamente nas devisoes da casa 9/30/2021 08:15:21 am
I like your contractor tips. I need a house built. I'll have to hire a contractor. 11/15/2021 12:56:02 am
These are great tips, it's important that once the job is done, take the time to do a thorough walk-through, inspecting the job for anything that might not be to your COMPLETE satisfaction. 1/18/2022 05:40:10 am
I appreciate your contractor recommendations. I require the construction of a house. I'll have to hire a handyman. 1/24/2022 04:45:39 am
Excellent advice! While you may have a clear vision of how you want your home to look, you may be unfamiliar with the details, such as drafting plans, obtaining building permits, and sourcing labor and materials. That's where a general contractor comes in handy. 5/16/2022 05:02:36 am
After you verify credentials and get a list of projects the contractor has worked on and some current and former customer references, it’s a good idea to investigate those and get the inside opinion on how the homeowner liked working with the contractor and whether or not they were satisfied with the job. 6/9/2022 06:48:02 pm
My favorite part of this article is that 10% is the cost of deposit amount to start the project. Yesterday, my cousin told me that he was planning to have his own custom business store because of different areas that he would like to be customized, and he asked if I had any idea what would be the best option to consider. Thanks to this informative article, I will be sure to tell him that it will be much better if he consults a trusted general contractor for more information about the process. 6/25/2022 10:59:34 am
The contractor must have workers’ compensation insurance for his employees. I’m so thankful for your helpful post! 6/25/2022 11:00:02 am
The contractor must have workers’ compensation insurance for his employees. I’m so thankful for your helpful post! 7/2/2022 09:57:23 am
Do not make the final payment to the contractor until he has handled any and all issues found during this inspection. Thank you for making this such an awesome post! 7/12/2022 11:32:20 am
Thanks for sharing these tips about choosing a general contarctor in california! This is really helpful and informative. 7/21/2022 03:33:17 pm
I agree that you should get different bids from multiple people. I need to get a contractor to put in a new balcony. I'll have to consider getting a contractor with good online reviews. I totally agree when you said that everything has to be in writing after we accept a bid from a construction contractor, and we need to read and understand all the terms. I will share this tip with my husband because we will both work on finding the right contractor to hire this coming 2023. We can finally have our dream home built after saving up for the project ever since we bought a piece of land back in 2016. 8/16/2022 12:32:10 pm
It was interesting to me when you mentioned that it is a good idea to find a general contractor that has a pocket license and picture ID. In addition to that, it would probably be a good idea to make sure you look at the licenses of the subcontractors that your main contractor works with. You would want to make sure that all of the people that are working on your home are licensed. 8/24/2022 07:30:37 am
It's great that you discussed that a reputable contractor will allow you to contact their previous customers. My friend is handling a project that requires engineering design. I should advise him to contract a multi-discipline engineering company with experience in high-volume production and logistics. 9/5/2022 11:30:20 am
Make sure that everything is in writing and included in the contract.Read the contract and make sure that you understand all the terms. Thank you for sharing your great post! 9/13/2022 02:59:35 am
In this case, make sure that the sub-contractors are carrying workers’ comp for their people. Thank you for making this such an awesome post! 10/7/2022 12:13:32 pm
Thanks so much for talking about things to look out for when making sure a contractor is legit. My mom wants to remodel her kitchen and increase space and flow. We've been looking into finding a contractor who can work with her needs and have good input on how things should be changed. 10/10/2022 02:09:32 pm
If something is not included in the written bid, then you could be charged extra for it later or you might get an inferior product substituted for the one you verbally specified. Thank you for the beautiful post!
Visiting your blog was a very interesting experience. Real estate business is the subject of your blog, and you have very good content there. Thanks for the great blog. 10/20/2022 02:42:08 pm
This will show the progressive phases of the work and how much you are being charged for each phase. Only pay what the contractor is owed based on what had been completed. Thank you, amazing post! 10/26/2022 07:46:11 pm
Thank you for recommending that you get a payment schedule from the contractor. This calendar will outline the work's various phases and the associated costs. My sister desires to renovate her home. I will assist her in locating a residential general contractor who can create a payment arrangement for my sister. 12/2/2022 08:57:01 pm
Thanks for pointing out that we should make sure that we understand the contract and all its terms after accepting a bid. I will follow your advice because I will hire a general contractor next year after all the festivities. It will be a great time to get our kitchen renovated now that I have enough budget for this project. 12/22/2022 09:31:35 am
I have an uncle who's starting a new construction project next spring, so he's looking for a contractor to help him get started. It's good to know that we must get our project's bid in writing before working with a general contractor, so I'll email this to my uncle now to prevent him from getting scammed. Thanks for the insight on general contractors and how to identify a professional one. 1/3/2023 06:16:57 am
I want to get a home made, but I want to make sure that I get the right contractor to help me out with this. It makes sense that I would want to find a contractor that has some good references. That seems like a great way to ensure that they can do a good job for me. 1/26/2023 01:41:10 pm
I like how you said that a contractor is reputable if they are willing to give you references. My sister was at my house last night for dinner, and she talked about how she wants to get her basement finished so that her home can have extra rooms in it for her kids, so she wants to make sure she finds the right contractor to hire. I'll pass these tips along to her so she can know how to start searching for one! 1/30/2023 03:00:18 am
Excellent information on how to find the right contractor for our construction process. It's fantastic that you proposed that the company provide workers compensation insurance, because it's a dangerous job with the potential for accidents. This is reasonable. I'll let my friend know about this tip as he's searching for a contractor for one of his construction projects. Thanks. 2/14/2023 11:18:46 pm
You are absolutely correct and thanks for giving information about General Contractor. I loved your blog and thanks for publishing this!! I am really happy to come across this exceptionally well-written content. Thanks for sharing and look for more in future!! 2/27/2023 09:06:52 pm
I found it interesting when you said that asking for references could help you obtain resourceful information about insurance. Last night, my brother told me he planned to have a roofing insurance plan to prevent potential risks from financially draining his roofing company. He asked if I had any idea what could be the best legal option to consider. Thanks to this informative article, I'll tell him he can consult a trusted insurance agency as they can provide details about the best plans and coverage. 3/13/2023 11:14:28 am
Do the bids include everything you are expecting to have done on the job? Do they include exact and detailed specifications for the materials and fixtures that you want? I’m so thankful for your helpful post! 3/21/2023 04:49:32 am
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