Posted On: Mar 30, 2026
Author: Andy H.
contractor home-repair homeowner-tips
There are a few moments in homeownership where you can lose a lot of money in a short amount of time. Buying the house is one. Hiring the wrong contractor for a major project is another. The difference is that the second one is more avoidable than the first, because most bad contractor experiences come from the same three or four mistakes.
I've hired contractors for projects ranging from a $400 fence repair to a multi-month interior remodel. I've had a couple of great experiences and one expensive bad one. Here's the process I use now, written for a first-time hire.
Most homeowners shortcut this step and pay for it later. They call three contractors, describe the project in conversation, and get three quotes that aren't comparing the same thing.
Write down what you want done. Specifics. For a bathroom remodel: which tile, which vanity (size, color, brand if you have one in mind), which toilet model, which faucet, are you keeping the tub or replacing it, are you moving any plumbing. Find photos of finished projects you like and save them in a folder on your phone.
You don't need a professional drawing. You need enough specificity that any two contractors looking at your project see the same scope. When you don't have this, the cheapest bid will quietly assume the cheapest version of everything, and the surprise comes in the change orders.
Three bids isn't really about finding the lowest number. It's about calibrating. After three quotes you understand the realistic price range for your job, and you can tell which contractor's process matches yours.
Pay attention to how each one handles the conversation. Did they show up on time for the estimate? Did they ask questions you didn't think of (about access, about what's behind the wall, about your timeline)? Did they explain trade-offs honestly? Did they push back on any of your assumptions in a useful way? Contractors who do good work tend to talk like they do good work, and the conversation itself is information.
A bid that comes in dramatically below the other two isn't a deal. It usually means they missed something in the scope, or they're planning to make it up in change orders, or they're using lower-grade materials than the other quotes. I've made this mistake. Once.
This is the step that separates real pros from people pretending. Two checks, both non-negotiable.
License: Most states require contractors to be licensed for work over a certain dollar threshold (often $500 or $1,000). The license number should be on their truck, their card, their estimate. Look it up on your state's contractor licensing board website. It takes two minutes and tells you whether they're actually licensed, when it expires, and whether they have any complaints filed against them.
Insurance: They need general liability and workers' comp. General liability covers damage they cause to your house. Workers' comp covers their crew if someone gets hurt on your property. Without workers' comp, if a guy falls off your roof, you can be on the hook. Ask for a certificate of insurance (a "COI") that lists your address as the project location. Call the insurance company on the COI to verify the policy is current. Yes, actually call. Forging a COI is a thing.
References: Ask for three names from projects similar in scope to yours, finished in the last year. Then actually call them. Ask whether the project finished on time, whether the price changed from the original estimate, how communication was when things went sideways (because something always goes sideways), and whether they'd hire the contractor again.
A real quote breaks down materials separately from labor, lists permit fees explicitly if any are needed, and includes a payment schedule.
The payment schedule is the most-abused part of the contractor relationship. A standard structure is a small deposit at signing (10-30% of the total, no more), progress payments tied to milestones, and a final payment at completion when you've walked the job and signed off. Anyone asking for 50% upfront is a yellow flag. Anyone asking for the full amount upfront is a red flag. If they need 100% to buy materials, they don't have working capital, which means they're either new or in trouble.
The quote should also reference how change orders work. Change orders are written modifications to the scope when something changes during the project. Without a process for them, you'll end up arguing about extras at the end. The contract should require change orders to be written and signed before the extra work happens.
Even for a small job, get a contract. A few clauses to make sure are in there:
A start date and a target completion date. Not "we'll get to it sometime in May." A real range.
A description of materials specific enough that you'd notice if they substituted. "Kohler Wellworth toilet, white" beats "toilet."
A lien waiver clause. If your contractor subcontracts part of the work (electrical, drywall) and doesn't pay the sub, that sub can place a mechanic's lien on your house. A lien waiver in the contract requires the contractor to provide proof of payment to subs before you make the final payment.
A warranty period for the work. One year is typical for most trades. Get it in writing.
After my one bad experience, the thing I changed most isn't on the standard checklist: I keep written notes during the job. Dates of conversations. What was promised and when. Photos of progress at the end of each week.
The reason is that contractor disputes almost always become arguments about who said what. If you can produce a phone photo with a date stamp showing the state of the bathroom on May 12, the conversation gets a lot more productive than "I remember it differently."
It's a small habit and you'll probably never need the notes. But the one time you do, they're the difference between getting your money back and writing it off.
Properteer tracks the contractors you've used, what they did, what it cost, and the warranty period. Next time something breaks, you have the contact and the history in one place.
