Before You Sign — Contract Checklist · BuildQuest

Meet

QUINN

Protecting your dream
every step of the way

Ask Quinn about your contract

Opens a live voice & text conversation with Quinn — ask anything about your contract.

buildquest

Before You Sign Checklist · Interactive

Decision & Hiring Phase · Contract Review

Before You Sign

You have chosen your path and your contractor. Now one piece of paper stands between you and the start of construction — the single most important document in the entire project. Work down this checklist before the pen ever touches the page. Tick each item as you confirm it.

Signing Readiness 0 / 0 confirmed

Start ticking items as you verify them. Every box should be checked before you sign.

Quinn says

The signing feels like a formality because the hard decisions are behind you. It is not. This page is your protection when, not if, something gets remembered differently six months from now. Slow down here, and let’s walk it together.

Meet Your Guide

Quinn — Your Planning Assistant

Quinn is the AI planning assistant inside BuildQuest. Throughout this checklist, Quinn steps in at the moments that trip homeowners up — the wrinkles you would not think to ask about. This is not legal advice; it is the field-tested discipline that keeps you in the driver’s seat.

Check 01

Know who you are actually signing with

You contract with one entity — the general contractor (GC). The GC hires the subs; you do not. That single relationship shapes who is on the hook for what.

One named entity is the contracting partyA single company — usually your general contractor — carries responsibility for everyone it brings onto the job. One throat to choke. You understand the subs contract with the GC — not with youFramers, plumbers, electricians, tile setters: their agreements are with the GC independently. You know which of the three seats you are inA general contractor (most common), acting as your own GC (only with real experience), or a design-build firm under one roof. You understand your mechanics-lien exposureAn unpaid sub or supplier can lien your home even after you have paid the GC in full. You close this loop in Check 03 with lien releases.

The wrinkle that catches honest homeowners: not contracting with the subs does not mean the subs cannot reach you. Pay your GC every dollar, and if the GC fails to pay the framer, the framer can still file against your house — leaving you to potentially pay twice.

Check 02

Confirm what is inside the document

Rule one sounds obvious and gets violated constantly: have a written contract that points at your project — not generic boilerplate.

A real written contract exists — not a handshakeA contract is the antidote to convenient memory. Everybody remembers the version that favors them. It references your specific plans, specs, and scope of workNot “contractor will build a house” — your house, your plans, your spec list. A supplemental scope-of-work document is gathered and referencedOne central place that captures every email decision and “we agreed on this” moment. When everything lives in one spot, there is nothing to misremember. Your state’s legal requirements are metIn California, any home-improvement project over $500 requires a written contract, the contractor’s license number on it, and a three-day right to cancel. Check your own state. You asked for the standard template early — and compared itThe contract handed to you should be the one you already read weeks ago. Lay them side by side; if anything changed, ask why.

A free background check: how a contractor responds to “can I see your standard contract” tells you who you are dealing with. Quick and complete, or chased for three weeks and a page and a half? Sloppy contract, sloppy project — it correlates more often than not.

Quinn’s tip

The payment section is your steering wheel for the whole project. Read it slowly, then read it again. The moment your money gets ahead of the work, your leverage is gone — and hope is not a contract.

Check 03

Read the payment section twice

Healthy money flows with the work: a defined amount when a defined chunk of work is complete and inspected. Then close the mechanics-lien loop with a release on every check.

Progress payments are tied to completed, inspected milestonesFoundation in and inspected — payment. Framing up and inspected — payment. The money follows the work. The down payment is within your state’s legal capCalifornia caps it at the lesser of $1,000 or 10%. On a $50,000 remodel the legal maximum is $1,000, not $5,000. A demand for 15–30% down is not just aggressive — it may be illegal. No payment exceeds the value of work actually completedYou pay for work done, never for work promised. Long-lead material draws are structured properlyWindows or cabinetry sometimes must be ordered ahead. Tie those draws to the schedule after crews deploy, and structure them with a construction-law attorney or your architect so everyone is covered. A lien release is collected with every paymentMoney goes out, signed release comes back — from the GC and the major subs and suppliers tied to that payment. That is the discipline. You have read the Notice to OwnerMany states include a lien warning in the contract. Do not skip it because it looks like fine print.

Check 04

Verify the name and license — it takes 60 seconds

The scam is as old as licenses: someone who cannot get work legitimately borrows a license number that does not match the person across the table. Confirm the page matches the people.

You looked the license up yourself on the state boardIn California it is the Contractor State License Board at CSLB.ca.gov. Every licensing state has a free online tool. Status is active and in good standingCheck the status, bond, and workers’ comp — and look for any disciplinary history. The classification matches the work you are hiring forA license is for a specific trade or classification. Make sure it fits your project. The name on the license matches the company on your contractThe name on the truck and the number on the paper must be the same business. You checked the pocket license card against a photo IDConfirm the person in front of you is the license holder or someone clearly authorized to sign. The signer has authority to bind the companyThis is a mutual contract. A signature from someone with no authority can evaporate when you need it most.

Quick license check

Drop in the license number printed on your contract and open your state board’s lookup. Default below is California’s CSLB; swap the link for your state.

Look it up →

A contractor saying “we’re licensed” is a sales statement. A license number you looked up yourself is a fact. Don’t take the claim — get the fact.

From Overwhelmed to Empowered.

Enlighten, empower, protect. Now go make it happen. — Bill Reid

Ready to save your Before You Sign checklist? Click Print and choose Save as PDF. In settings, make sure Background graphics is checked so the colors print correctly.

buildquest.co