# How Do You Find a Contractor You Can Trust?  Phase 3: Hire Your Team

- URL: https://www.renoversity.com/lessons/phase-3-hire-your-team
- Type: Lesson
- Access: public
- Course: How to Plan a Renovation, Step by Step (https://www.renoversity.com/courses/how-to-plan-a-renovation-step-by-step)
- Module: MODULE 1:  The Six Phases of a Home Renovation or Remodel
- Source: Renoversity

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Learn how to vet contractors, spot red flags before you sign anything, and put together a contract that protects you if the scope changes mid-project.

**Get written estimates from at least three contractors, run each one through a real vetting checklist, and confirm a milestone-based payment schedule before you sign anything.**

This is the phase where the most expensive mistakes get made, and almost all of them are avoidable with a checklist instead of a gut feeling. A contractor who won't put pricing in writing, who wants the full project paid before they've started, or who can't produce proof of insurance isn't someone you negotiate terms with. That's someone you cross off the list and move on from.

If you've hired a designer, this is likely the process they're running day to day. Your job is knowing what to ask them and what a good version of this looks like, not doing it yourself.

## Permits and paper, before the phone calls

Know which permits your project actually requires before you start calling contractors. It changes how you evaluate what you're told. A contractor who dismisses permits as unnecessary, or offers to skip them to save time, isn't doing you a favor. Unpermitted work creates real problems later, at resale and with your homeowners insurance.

## What a real estimate looks like

A number with no scope attached isn't an estimate, it's a guess, and guesses are how two quotes for the “same” project come in $20,000 apart. Get at least three written, detailed estimates before you decide anything.

## Twelve ways to know before you're in too deep

Any one of these is reason enough to keep looking: no written estimate, an upfront deposit with no clear tie to material costs or a defined milestone, no license or insurance on request, a vague timeline with no milestones, no checkable references, pressure to sign today, a scope that's just a room name and a total, a cash-only discount, a pattern of poor reviews, unclear subcontractors, dismissiveness about permits, or a gut feeling you can't quite explain. That last one matters more than people give it credit for. In 20 years of doing this, the projects that went sideways almost always had a moment early on where something felt slightly off, and it turned out to matter.

The inverse is just as useful to know: a detailed written scope, references you actually called and who checked out, license and insurance handed over without being asked twice, a milestone-based payment schedule, and a contract that already includes a change-order process. That's what a contractor who does this professionally looks like from the outside.

## What a reasonable payment schedule actually looks like

Deposit size by itself isn't the red flag most people think it is. On a larger project, 10 to 15 percent upfront with the rest tied to completed milestones is typical. On many smaller projects, a deposit of 50 percent or more is common, and reasonable, since it's often what covers materials before work can even start. What actually protects you isn't a percentage ceiling, it's making sure every payment after that first one is tied to a specific, completed, verified milestone, not a date on the calendar, and that you never release final payment until your punch list is fully closed.

## Lesson recap

1. Research which permits your project actually requires before you start calling anyone.
2. Get at least three written, detailed estimates.
3. Watch for the 12 red flags: no written estimate, a deposit with no tie to materials or a milestone, no license/insurance, vague timeline, no checkable references, pressure to sign today, vague scope, cash-only discount, poor reviews, unclear subcontractors, dismissing permits, or a gut feeling you can't explain.
4. Look for the green flags: detailed scope, checked references, license/insurance on hand, milestone payments, built-in change-order process.
5. Confirm a milestone-based payment schedule before signing. Deposit size varies by project size, what matters is that it's tied to materials or a milestone, not a flat percentage.