Hiring a general contractor is a bet. You're betting your money, your timeline, and your sanity on someone you barely know. Most people get burned because they ask the wrong questions or skip them entirely. Here's what actually matters.
Licensing & Insurance Questions
Ask for their license number and look it up on your state's board website. If they say they're licensed but won't give you the number, walk. Same for insurance — they need general liability and workers' comp. Call their insurance agent, don't just look at a certificate. One job with an uninsured worker gets hurt, and you're on the hook. If they tell you they're bonded, find out what that bond actually covers. Most bonds only protect against failure to complete, not shoddy work.
Experience & References Questions
Ask for three recent projects that look like yours. Not five-year-old jobs from their portfolio — recent. Call those references. Ask about communication, cleanup, and whether the final bill matched the estimate. Ask what went wrong. Every job has a problem, and you want to know how they handled it. If a guy says nothing went wrong, he's lying or he hasn't done much work. Skip anyone who can't give you a local address for a finished job you can drive by.
Pricing & Timeline Questions
Get a detailed written estimate, not a ballpark. The line items should make sense — materials, labor, permits, overhead, profit. If the cheapest bid is twenty percent under everyone else, that's a red flag, not a deal. Ask about change orders: how do they handle adding work mid-project? A good one charges time and materials with a signed order, not a surprise markup. For timeline, ask for a realistic schedule and what happens if they run late. If they blame suppliers or weather before you even start, that's a preview.
Contract Questions
Read the whole contract before you sign. Don't rely on verbal promises. Look for the payment schedule — never pay more than ten percent upfront or thirty percent before work starts. Hold back a chunk until final inspection passes. The contract should spell out who pulls permits and who pays for them. If they want you to get the permit, you're taking on liability. Also check the warranty clause: one year on workmanship is standard. Anything less and they don't stand behind their work.
Before you hire anyone, compare local general contractors on RatingsNearMe — real reviews from real homeowners, not a cleaned-up online profile.