A successful home building or remodeling project is dependent upon finding an ethical, reliable, competent and experienced contractor. This is where your research must be as thorough as possible, including background checks which will help to uncover any “skeletons” now, rather than in the middle of your project should things begin to unravel.

Checking with the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) to determine whether a potential contractor is duly licensed is simply a necessary formality.  You want to make sure that he/she is not revoked, suspended or unlicensed.

But it is important to understand that just because someone is licensed does not mean that he/she is ethical or will perform quality work that meets industry standards.  Nor does it mean you’re good to go, just because they are licensed.  The same goes for organizations with paid memberships.  The real work for the homeowner begins with doing a little detective work.

Start with the Contractors Board and then work into the background checks:

• Hire only licensed contractors.

Check for a history of complaints with the Contractors State License Board. Verify that your contractor has a good record with your States’ Contractors License Board. Check for any disclosed complaint history and legal actions taken against the contractor.

Warning: A record of no complaints against a contractor does not necessarily mean there are no previous or current consumer problems. Problems may exist, but may have not been fully investigated and reported. It can take 6 months to a year before the information is made available to the public depending on the complexities of the case.

Important note: Homeowners who choose to litigate their case rather than file a complaint with the CSLB often settle and seal their lawsuits leaving consumers clueless about any egregious behavior.

• Check references and follow up with the homeowners.

Ask for both recent (12 months) as well as the last three years. You’ll get a much better picture of the contractor’s current work and long-term standing with his customers. Talk to the homeowners to verify quality of workmanship. Visit on-going jobs and note job-site conditions.

• Ask the contractor how long he/she has been in business and have they done projects similar to yours. And follow-up on those projects with the homeowners!

• Verify the contractors’ insurance.

• Check for workman’s compensation, general liability and surety bond coverage.

(The CSLB should have up to date surety bond information on the contractor) Call these companies and verify coverage. Ask for a copy of these certificates for your files.

•Get at least three bids using the same set of plans so that you’re comparing apples to apples.

• Make sure the plans /specifications include everything you want stated in the bid.

Be very specific regarding the quality of materials, name brands, colors, sizes etc. that will be used or installed on your building project. This is where the specifications must contain every detail that you’re expecting to have included or installed. Do not leave this up to the discretion of the contractor who may substitute lower quality materials in order to beef-up profit margins.

• Verify that the contractor maintains a permanent mailing address, e-mail address, published personal phone number, fax number, and a cell phone, or voice-messaging system.

You want to be sure that you can reach him quickly in an emergency and that he’s not just working out of his truck.


• Obtain from the contractor a list of building materials, suppliers and subcontractors he uses for his projects.

Make sure that the contractor uses licensed sub-contractors, obtain their license numbers and check their status with your Contractors State License Board. If you have questions- by all means ask!

• Contact the suppliers to verify his credit standing.

Does he have an account or pays on delivery? Most suppliers are willing to extend credit to financially sound contractors.

• When interviewing contractors pay attention to how you feel about him/her.

Are you comfortable dealing with them, do you have a good feeling about having them around for several months up to a year. It’s just as important to have a good working relationship with the contractor, as it is to have a contractor with great credentials.
Ask the contractor who will be meeting with City Building Inspectors for the various inspections required? You want to make sure it is a responsible, knowledgeable employee (if not himself) who at the very least is a supervisor and can communicate in English.
Get a written contract but sign nothing until you completely understand the terms. It is well worth your money and peace of mind to know that you have signed a well-written contract that protects your interests and not just the contractors’. Consider hiring an attorney to review or write the contract.

• Key point to remember:

Do not give large sums of money up front to the contractor to begin the project. Unlike Home Improvement contracts - where the contractor can only ask for 10% or $1000, whichever is less - to begin a project, the rules are different when you're building from the ground up. The contractor can ask for a large sum up front but that doesn't mean you have to give it to him. Set up a payment schedule for paying once work has been performed and check with an attorney as to what would be appropriate for your project, including the down payment. If you loose control of the money, you'll loose control of your project. Check with a construction law attorney to draft a well written contract that fairly protects both parties.

• Consider doing a more extensive background check on the contractor you’re thinking of hiring.

With hundreds of thousands of dollars or more of your money on the line, wouldn’t you’d like to know if the contractor has a lien history, litigation history, bad debts or past bankruptcy before signing a contract. You can begin by conducting a search of court records in your city/county to check for litigation history and you can also check their lien history by doing a search through the County Property Assessor’s office that records these liens. Some of it you may be able to do on line otherwise you’ll have to physically go to these places to conduct your search.

There are some companies that will conduct background checks for a fee.

• Google your contractors name and/or company.

Very often people who have had serious problems will utilize the Internet to warn others about an errant contractor.

BE SURE TO GO THROUGH THE REST OF THE SITE FOR MORE HELPFUL TIPS AND RESOURCES BEFORE BEGINNING YOUR HOME BUILDING PROJECT.