Choosing who does the work matters more than almost any material decision. Here is what is worth examining before you commit.
Verify the license yourself
In California, contractors are licensed by the Contractors State License Board, and the board maintains a public lookup where anyone can check a license number.
Do that directly rather than taking a number on faith. The lookup shows whether the license is current, what classifications it covers, and the status of the bond. It takes a minute and it is the most basic verification available to you.
Ask about insurance as well, and ask for it in writing from the insurer rather than as a claim in conversation.
Look at completed work of a similar kind
A portfolio shows what someone can do. What is more useful is seeing work comparable to yours — in scope, in style, and ideally in a house of similar age, since older homes present issues newer ones do not.
If someone's finished work is consistently beautiful but always in new construction, and yours is a 1950s house with unknown conditions behind the walls, that is worth discussing openly.
Actually call the references
References are offered constantly and contacted rarely. When you do call, the useful questions are not "were you happy" but:
- What surprised you during the project?
- Something always comes up — how was it handled when it did?
- How did they communicate when the schedule changed?
- Were you able to reach someone when you needed to?
- How was the site left at the end of each day?
- Would you use them again?
The answers about problems are more informative than the answers about successes. Every project has friction; how it was handled tells you what working with someone is like.
Notice how they communicate before you hire them
The responsiveness you experience while someone is trying to earn your business is generally the best version you will see. If messages go unanswered for a week during that phase, that is data.
Pay attention also to whether they ask you questions. Someone who quotes a kitchen without asking how you use it, what is behind the walls, or what you are trying to solve is quoting a generic kitchen.
Read what you are signing
A written agreement should leave you clear on what is included, what is not, how changes are handled, and what the payment schedule is. Take the time to read it properly, and ask about anything you do not understand.
Vagueness in a scope of work tends to become disagreement later, when both parties remember the conversation differently. Specificity protects everyone.
Be careful with the lowest number
When one figure comes in far below the others, the useful response is curiosity rather than delight. Usually it means something different is being assumed — a narrower scope, different materials, different allowances — and comparing the documents line by line reveals it.
Ask what is assumed. A gap that large almost always has an explanation, and it is better found now than mid-project.
Trust the working relationship
You will be in regular contact with this person for weeks or months, and they will be in your home while your life continues around them. Technical competence is necessary but not sufficient.
If communication feels difficult at the proposal stage, it rarely improves once the walls are open. That instinct is worth weighting.
A reasonable expectation: a contractor worth working with will be comfortable being asked all of this. Straightforward questions about licensing, insurance, scope and references are ordinary, and a considered answer to them is itself a good sign.