[MRM]

The bid will be in a lump sum form but that doesn't mean you should pay in a lump sum or that the contractor thinks he's going to be paid in a lump sum. You use the bid to agree on the price. Then you enter a contract outlining the draw and how much is held back for the final payment.

Ask for a copy of his dec page of his insurance and actually call his references. Ask them candidly to tell you about their experiences. Drive by some of his prior projects if you can. Ask how long he has been in business and how long with this name, corporation, and location. Ask if he does any work himself, whether the crews work for him or are subcontractors, and whether he has a full time job superintendent who will oversee the crews at all times.

The best possible answers are that he has been in business with the same name for a long time, has never changed from one corporate entity to another (although one change from an S corp to an LLC can be explained by business necessity) and that he still does some of the work himself. On site supervision is a big issue if his crews are subs, but using subs is not a problem if he has a long relationship with them and supervises them well.