Learning how to choose a contractor is one of the highest-stakes decisions a property owner or developer makes on any project, and it's often made under time pressure with incomplete information. The proposal looks professional, the number seems reasonable, and the references are willing to talk — but the details that actually determine whether a project goes smoothly rarely show up in a glossy leave-behind. Before you hire a general contractor, ask these ten questions directly and pay attention to how clearly they're answered.
1. Are you licensed, bonded, and insured for this project and jurisdiction?
Licensing requirements vary by state and sometimes by municipality, and bonding capacity matters for larger projects. A contractor should be able to produce current license information and certificates of insurance without hesitation, matched to the specific project location and value.
2. What work do you self-perform versus subcontract?
A commercial general contractor who self-performs core trades — site work, concrete, or carpentry, for example — typically has more direct control over schedule and quality on those scopes than one who subcontracts everything. Neither model is automatically better, but you should know which one you're getting and how it affects accountability.
3. What is your safety record?
Ask for OSHA recordable incident rates or EMR (experience modification rate) if available, and ask how safety is managed day to day — daily briefings, hazard analysis, and whether any crew member has stop-work authority. A contractor's safety culture directly affects your schedule risk and liability exposure.
4. Can I talk to recent references, including ones still in progress?
Completed-project references tend to be polished. A reference for a project still underway will tell you more about how the contractor handles the messy middle — communication, problem-solving, and how change orders are actually handled in real time. Ask the reference specifically how disagreements were resolved, not just whether they were happy with the finished building.
5. How do you build and manage the schedule?
Ask whether the schedule is a real, logic-driven critical path document that gets updated regularly, or a static chart made once at kickoff. Ask how weather, permitting delays, or material lead times get incorporated and communicated when they happen, and how far in advance you'll know if a milestone is slipping.
6. How will you communicate with me during construction?
Weekly meetings, written progress reports, and access to real-time cost and schedule information are reasonable expectations. Owners who are surprised late in a project are almost always owners who weren't getting clear, regular updates earlier. Ask to see a sample progress report before you sign, so you know exactly what you'll be receiving and how often.
7. How do you select and manage subcontractors?
A general contractor's project is only as good as the subcontractors performing the work. Ask how subs are vetted, how their work is inspected before it's covered up, and what happens if a subcontractor underperforms mid-project. A contractor with an established roster of trade partners they use repeatedly typically has more leverage to fix problems quickly than one assembling a crew from scratch for every job.
8. What are your payment terms, and how are draws structured?
Understand the payment schedule, retainage percentage, and what documentation is required with each draw request. Clear, consistent payment processes are a good proxy for how organized the rest of the project will be.
9. What warranty do you provide, and how are warranty issues handled?
Ask what's covered, for how long, and who you actually call when something needs attention after closeout. A contractor who treats warranty service seriously is telling you something about how they view the relationship after the final payment clears.
10. Who is my actual day-to-day point of contact?
Know the name of the person who will be on-site or reachable daily, not just the person who sold you the project. On owner-led firms, that contact is sometimes the owner directly, which many clients find changes how quickly decisions get made.
None of these questions are meant to be adversarial — a contractor worth hiring should welcome all ten. At Vega Tower Ventures, these are the same standards we hold ourselves to on every commercial construction project we take on, and we're glad to answer them directly. If you're vetting contractors for an upcoming project, contact us and ask us anything on this list.