15 Questions to Ask a Contractor Before Hiring

Hiring a contractor is a trust decision. You're giving someone access to your property, a significant amount of money, and a timeline that affects your life or your investment income. The questions you ask before signing a contract determine whether that trust is earned or misplaced.

We've been on both sides of the contractor conversation. As property owners who've hired dozens of contractors across our 13 Chattanooga rental properties, and as the contractor on hundreds of projects, we know which questions actually matter — and what the answers reveal about how a project will go.

Here are the 15 questions that should be part of every pre-hire conversation.

Questions About Licensing and Insurance

1. Are you licensed as a general contractor in Tennessee? In Tennessee, contractors performing projects over $25,000 must hold a General Contractor license from the Board of Licensing Contractors. Ask for their license number and verify it at the Tennessee TDCI website. An unlicensed contractor can't legally pull permits — which means any work requiring permits creates problems for you down the road.

2. Can you provide a certificate of insurance? Ask for a certificate showing both general liability and workers' compensation coverage. Then call the insurance company and verify the policy is active. An uninsured worker injured on your property can become your liability.

3. Will you pull the required permits? Legitimate contractors pull permits. Period. A contractor who suggests skipping permits to save money is asking you to carry the risk — unpermitted work can cause problems at resale, create insurance complications, and may have to be redone if discovered.

Questions About Their Experience and Track Record

4. Have you done projects similar to this one recently? A contractor who primarily does new construction may not be the right fit for a historic renovation. A remodeling contractor may not have experience with storm damage restoration. Relevant recent experience matters.

5. Can you provide references from the last three projects? Ask for three — not a cherry-picked one. Call them. Ask specifically: Did they finish on time? Did the final cost match the estimate? How did they handle problems when they came up? Would you hire them again?

6. How long have you been in business in Chattanooga? A new business isn't automatically a red flag, but longevity in the local market typically indicates a track record of completing projects and maintaining a reputation. Ask about the owners' combined experience even if the business entity is newer.

Questions About the Specific Project

7. What's your timeline for this project — start date and completion date? Get a specific start date and a realistic completion date in writing. "A few weeks" is not a timeline. If the contractor can't give you dates, they haven't thought through the schedule — and that usually means the timeline will slip.

8. Who will actually be doing the work? Some general contractors do the work themselves with a crew. Others subcontract most trades. Either model can work — but you should know who's on your property, whether they're employed or subcontracted, and whether the GC will be on-site regularly or just popping in.

9. What's included in the estimate — and what's not? Ask the contractor to walk you through the estimate line by line. Clarify what materials are specified. Ask explicitly: "Are permits included? Is demo included? Is cleanup and haul-off included?" The items not listed are often where extra charges appear later.

10. How do you handle unexpected issues or change orders? Every renovation has surprises. The question is how the contractor handles them. The answer you want: they document the issue, present options with pricing before proceeding, and get written authorization before doing work outside the original scope. The answer that should concern you: "We'll just work it out as we go."

Questions About Payment and Contract

11. What's your payment schedule? A reasonable structure: 10–25% deposit, progress payments tied to completion milestones, and a final payment (10–15%) at punch list completion. A contractor who requires more than 30–40% upfront before work begins is a risk. Never pay in full before the work is done.

12. What does your contract specify about timeline and delays? The contract should specify a start date, a projected completion date, and what happens if delays occur. Ask how weather delays, material lead times, and inspection waits are handled.

13. What warranty do you offer on your work? A reputable contractor warranties their workmanship — typically 1–2 years on labor. Material warranties come from the manufacturer. Ask specifically what defects are covered, for how long, and what the process is to make a warranty claim.

Questions About Communication

14. Who is my point of contact during the project? On a well-run project, you have one person to call with questions and updates. Find out who that is before you start — and whether it's the owner, the project manager, or the crew lead.

15. How will you keep me updated on progress? The communication cadence should be agreed on upfront. Daily photos for out-of-town investors. Weekly check-in calls for homeowners. Whatever works for your situation — establish it before work begins. A contractor who won't commit to a communication structure is one who won't communicate when things get hard.

What the Answers Tell You

The answers to these questions matter — but how a contractor answers them matters just as much. A contractor who gets defensive about the licensing question, who can't produce references, or who gives vague non-answers to the payment and communication questions is showing you who they are before the contract is signed.

At Chattanooga Renovation Contractors, we welcome every one of these questions. We're licensed, insured, and permitted on every project. We give you a specific timeline and a milestone-based payment schedule. And we communicate proactively — because we've been the frustrated client waiting for an update that never came.

Learn more about how we work and get a free estimate for your project.