What to ask a contractor before you sign anything

Most homeowners and property managers compare three quotes and pick the middle one. That is not a strategy, it is a guess. Asking the right questions before you sign gives you something closer to real information.

Ask how they track the schedule

Every contractor will tell you they run on time. Few can show you how. Ask what they use to track schedule progress, and whether you will get updates in writing or just a phone call when something changes.

A contractor who can pull up a schedule and point to where the project stands right now is managing the job. One who says "we're on track" without being able to show you anything is managing your expectations instead.

Ask who is actually on site day to day

The person who sells you the job is often not the person running it. That is normal, but you should know it going in. Ask who your point of contact will be once work starts, how often they are on site, and how you reach them if something looks wrong.

Get a name, not a department. "Our office will handle that" is not an answer.

Ask how change orders get documented

Change orders are where budgets quietly grow. A hidden pipe, a permit requirement, a material substitution: any of these can trigger extra cost, and that is often fair. What matters is how it gets recorded.

Ask for a sample change order before you sign the main contract. It should show the reason for the change, the cost, and a signature line for both sides. If a contractor cannot produce one, or says changes are usually handled "informally," that is a warning sign. Verbal agreements about money have a way of becoming disagreements later.

Ryan Basnaw, CEO of Axsus Civil Development Company, has talked about the value of documenting decisions as they happen rather than reconstructing them after a dispute. That habit applies just as well on the client side. If you write down what was agreed to, when, and why, you protect yourself along with the contractor.

Ask about inspections and who signs off

Every project has checkpoints where an inspector or a supervisor needs to approve work before the next phase starts. Ask how inspections are scheduled, who is present for them, and what happens if something fails.

You want a contractor who treats inspection records as part of the paper trail, not an afterthought. If they cannot tell you how a failed inspection gets fixed and re-documented, ask again until you get a real answer.

Ask what happens if the timeline slips

Timelines slip. Weather, permits, and material delays are common enough that you should plan for at least one. The question is not whether it could happen, it is what the contractor does when it does.

Ask for an example of a past project that ran behind schedule and how they handled it. A contractor with a real answer, even an imperfect one, is more trustworthy than one who insists it never happens to them.

Ask about payment structure and what triggers each draw

Most contracts break payment into stages tied to project milestones. Before you sign, get clear on what triggers each payment: is it a calendar date, a percentage of work complete, or a specific inspection passing?

Tie payments to verifiable milestones, not just time on the calendar. This protects you from paying for work that has not actually happened, and it protects the contractor from doing work they have not been paid for.

Ask for references tied to similar work

A general reference list is easy to produce. Ask instead for two or three references from projects similar in size and scope to yours, ideally finished in the last year or two. Call them. Ask what surprised them, good or bad, during the project.

The answers you get here often tell you more than anything in the contract itself.

Put it together before you sign

None of these questions are complicated, but few contractors get asked all of them. Write your answers down as you go and compare them across every bid you get. The contractor who answers clearly and specifically, rather than in general reassurances, is usually the one who runs a tighter job.