It’s tempting to hire a contractor that you see working in your neighborhood. I recently noticed a company’s truck at three different houses near me and casually asked the supervisor if they trim trees or do concrete work. Right away, the “tree guy” gave me a bid of $800 to prune a large Japanese maple, and within minutes he offered a $100 discount because I was in their service area. The next day, their “concrete guy” made an estimate for $12,000 with no mention of permits or a written contract. Read more

The California State Licensing Board (CSLB) wants consumers to know that all home improvement contracts are required to contain certain language. If you aren’t aware of this prerequisite, the CSLB’s website has plenty of information that will get you acquainted with the elements of a proper contract. In addition, you can prevent stress and conflict during a construction project by tactfully requesting that your contract contain the following three elements:

A payment schedule with a task-by-task breakdown. The easier it is for you to read and understand your contract, the better. If the payment schedule is broken down by “percentage of job completed,” ask for a task-by-task breakdown instead so you can verify the work that has actually been done. Read more