The 10 questions to ask any contractor before you sign

Hiring a contractor is a high-stakes decision and most homeowners do it once or twice in a lifetime. The contractor does it every day. That asymmetry is the whole problem — and these ten questions level it out.

1. Who's actually on my job?

Big company or small, you want to know whether the owner is showing up or whether it's a crew lead you've never met. Both can be fine — but you want to know.

2. Walk me through your insurance

Liability, workers' comp, and ideally an umbrella. Ask for a current certificate. If they hedge, stop the conversation.

3. What's your payment schedule?

A common scam is asking for most of the job up front. A reasonable schedule is a modest deposit to start, draws as the work hits milestones, and the last payment on punch-list completion. Ask what the deposit covers and get the whole schedule written into the contract.

4. Permits — yours or mine?

If they're saying you should pull the permit, that's a red flag. The contractor pulls the permit because their license is on the line. Owner-pulled permits exist but they're situational.

5. Change order process?

Every contractor has change orders. Good ones write them up. The conversation should be: "Here's the new line item, here's the cost, please sign before we proceed."

6. Daily start time and clean-up

Sounds petty. Isn't. A crew that turns up when it said it would and leaves the site clean is a crew with discipline.

7. Subs — known or sourced?

If they sub out the electrical, plumbing, drywall — fine. Ask which subs they use. The answer should be names, not "the usual."

8. Lien waivers

You want a partial lien waiver from the GC and each major sub at every payment, and a final lien waiver from each at completion. Don't release the final payment without them.

9. Communication cadence

Weekly check-in? Daily? Slack? Email? Whatever it is, agree before kickoff.

10. References from a job that went sideways

Anyone can give you a happy reference. Ask for a job that had a problem and how it was resolved. The answer is the whole tell.