I’ve done over 50 renovations and my approach with contractors is to get at least 3 very detailed quotes from them. Especially important is breaking down the labor vs. the actual materials.

I’d do a bit of extra work as I’d supply them with an excel spreadsheet to fill in the cost for each thing in each room. That way I could easily see where the differences were.

And then it’s just a matter of them either agreeing to go lower or match another quote or not.

It was a really educational experience for me as many times, contractor A would show me how they were able to get it down or explain it was impossible, etc.

Some contractors are busier than others and value their time more. But the key is just seeing where the differences are and seeing if they will agree to match it.

It’s been my experience, if you’re really cool with them and not a jerk about it, most will match others if it’s truly and apples to apples comparison of the quotes/materials.

I think everyone here has heard me preach about doing full due diligence.

Check his/her license on the CSLB website. Things to look for on that site:
– change in bond insurer (especially if there’s a gap or it changed not on an annual basis – this *could* indicate that they had a bond paid out.)
– complaints. If there is a complaint that shows on the website it means it was pretty serious complaint and that the CSLB – which my limited experience suggests – tries to reject EVERY claim – deemed it worthy of not just investigation, but referral for legal action. Our complaint did not show on the website till it was ready to be referred to the state AG’s office.

https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicenseII/checklicense.aspx

Check to see if they are being sued or have been sued a lot. In San Diego you can do party name searches using the link below. Check under the corporation name (if there is one) and the principal’s name(s).

http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

Check to see if they are lien happy – again, check under the company name and the personal name. In San Diego you can do this with a search of the online county recorders database. If they file a lot of mechanics liens it could be a red flag.

http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx

If they have a corporation, check their corporate status. Expired or suspended corporations are NOT allowed to issue contracts (although they can complete already started contracts.) They also can’t legally defend themselves in court – which is a quandary if things go bad. (At least the way our attorney explained it to us.) If it’s suspended, it may be due to non-payment of taxes – which might be an indication they are resource limited and don’t have the cash flow to be contracting.
You can check the corporate status on the SOS’ website.

http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/

Finally, if you are worried at all about their finances – you can see if they’ve filed for bankruptcy on the federal pacer site. You have to register and provide credit card info – in case you order docs… but it’s virtually free. (I think I was billed $1.20 once.)

http://www.pacer.gov/findcase.html

Keep in mind, I’m coming to this from the viewpoint of someone who hired a contractor who we thought was great… till it all blew up. So I have a mindset of really paying attention to details when hiring a contractor.

Become familiar with the legal process of hiring a contractor who will be hiring subs. Learn what a “20 day notice” is. And make sure you get releases. Learn the nuances (like the “20 day” things means it can only look back 20 days from when it is served… the process it needs to be served, etc.) When things blew up we had some collections threats and lien threats from subs who had failed to file the preliminary liens in the time frame. There’s an overview description of this on the CSLB website.

http://www.cslb.ca.gov/Consumers/LegalIssuesForConsumers/MechanicsLien/HowToPreventAMechanicsLien.asp

All that said – I wish you good luck and happy remodeling. I know there are good contractors out there. (At least I’ve heard rumors of this. LOL)

Learn about joint checks. It can save you from buying stuff twice if your contractor goes belly up.

Where is the best place to look for a contractor apart from recommendations?

[quote=UCGal]I think everyone here has heard me preach about doing full due diligence.

Check his/her license on the CSLB website. Things to look for on that site:
– change in bond insurer (especially if there’s a gap or it changed not on an annual basis – this *could* indicate that they had a bond paid out.)
– complaints. If there is a complaint that shows on the website it means it was pretty serious complaint and that the CSLB – which my limited experience suggests – tries to reject EVERY claim – deemed it worthy of not just investigation, but referral for legal action. Our complaint did not show on the website till it was ready to be referred to the state AG’s office.

https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicenseII/checklicense.aspx

Check to see if they are being sued or have been sued a lot. In San Diego you can do party name searches using the link below. Check under the corporation name (if there is one) and the principal’s name(s).

http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

Check to see if they are lien happy – again, check under the company name and the personal name. In San Diego you can do this with a search of the online county recorders database. If they file a lot of mechanics liens it could be a red flag.

http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx

If they have a corporation, check their corporate status. Expired or suspended corporations are NOT allowed to issue contracts (although they can complete already started contracts.) They also can’t legally defend themselves in court – which is a quandary if things go bad. (At least the way our attorney explained it to us.) If it’s suspended, it may be due to non-payment of taxes – which might be an indication they are resource limited and don’t have the cash flow to be contracting.
You can check the corporate status on the SOS’ website.

http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/

Finally, if you are worried at all about their finances – you can see if they’ve filed for bankruptcy on the federal pacer site. You have to register and provide credit card info – in case you order docs… but it’s virtually free. (I think I was billed $1.20 once.)

http://www.pacer.gov/findcase.html

Keep in mind, I’m coming to this from the viewpoint of someone who hired a contractor who we thought was great… till it all blew up. So I have a mindset of really paying attention to details when hiring a contractor.

Become familiar with the legal process of hiring a contractor who will be hiring subs. Learn what a “20 day notice” is. And make sure you get releases. Learn the nuances (like the “20 day” things means it can only look back 20 days from when it is served… the process it needs to be served, etc.) When things blew up we had some collections threats and lien threats from subs who had failed to file the preliminary liens in the time frame. There’s an overview description of this on the CSLB website.

http://www.cslb.ca.gov/Consumers/LegalIssuesForConsumers/MechanicsLien/HowToPreventAMechanicsLien.asp

All that said – I wish you good luck and happy remodeling. I know there are good contractors out there. (At least I’ve heard rumors of this. LOL)[/quote]

THANK YOU, UCGAL!!!!

We are also looking to add on to a house we just bought (closing escrow tomorrow). Your info here is invaluable.

We owe you, big time!

Congratulations to you CAR, Mr CAR, and the younger CARs.
We may need to start calling you CAB. Lol