Short answer
Verify three documents: City of Dallas contractor registration, a current certificate of general liability insurance sent directly by the insurer, and the state licenses of the electrician and plumber who will actually do the work.
Call references, and ask for one whose project had a problem. How a contractor behaves when something goes wrong is the only thing you actually need to know, and a reference list of perfect projects tells you nothing.
Never pay a large deposit with no defined deliverable, and never accept a verbal change. Both are the beginning of nearly every remodel horror story.
On this page
What should you verify before anything else?
| What | How | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| City of Dallas contractor registration | Ask, and confirm with the city | Registration requires proof of insurance; it is the local mechanism |
| General liability insurance | Certificate sent by the insurer, not a copy from the contractor | Covers damage they cause. Check dates and amounts |
| Workers’ compensation | Ask directly | Not universally required in Texas — you want to know either way |
| Electrician and plumber state licenses | Verify with the state board | These are real licenses, unlike a “state GC license” |
| Business history | Length of trading, business name history | A business that closed and reopened under a new name is worth understanding |
| Physical address | Ask for one | A mailbox and a phone number is not a business you can find later |
The important detail on insurance: ask for the certificate to be sent by the insurance agency directly to you. A certificate forwarded by the contractor is a document you cannot verify, and it is one of the easier things to alter. Genuine contractors expect this request and it takes their agent five minutes.
On registration, remember what it is and is not. Texas issues no statewide residential GC license, so registration with the city is the meaningful local credential — the full explanation is in what a general contractor actually does.
References worth calling
Everyone provides references and everyone provides good ones. Two requests make the exercise useful:
- “May I speak to someone whose project had a problem?” Every contractor has one. A contractor who says no problems have ever occurred is either very new or not being straight, and a contractor who offers such a reference readily is telling you something valuable before you have even called.
- “May I see a project in progress?” A finished project shows the result. An active site shows how they work: dust control, floor protection, tidiness, whether trades are actually there at nine in the morning.
When you call a reference, ask these rather than “were you happy”:
- Did the project finish close to the schedule you were given at the start?
- How were change orders handled — in writing, priced, before the work?
- How quickly did they respond when you raised something?
- What was the site like to live beside?
- Was there a punch list, and how long did it take to clear?
- Would you use them again, and what would you do differently?
Registration, insurance, references including a project that had a problem, a site you can walk — every question on this page is one you should ask, and one Chateau Concepts expects.
Jan Revels is registered with the City of Dallas, carries general liability insurance, and designs and builds under one contract.
How do you compare bids fairly?
Two bids for the same house routinely differ substantially, and it is rarely because one firm is cheap. Before comparing totals:
- Give every bidder identical information. The same drawings, the same specifications, the same allowances. Without that, you are comparing different projects.
- Check the allowances. An allowance is a placeholder for something not yet chosen. A low tile or fixture allowance produces a low bid and a bill later.
- Check what is excluded. Read the exclusions before the inclusions, on every bid.
- Check who buys the fixtures. If you do, that money is missing from their number and present in your project.
- Look for a contingency line. A bid with one is more honest and will look more expensive. See change orders and budget control.
- Ask what is assumed. Every bid rests on assumptions about what is behind the walls. The bidder who states them is the one who has thought about it.
Be wary of the lowest bid by a wide margin. It usually means something was left out, an allowance is unrealistic, or the contractor intends to make it up in changes. Ask specifically what they included that the others did not, or the reverse.
Questions that separate contractors
- Who will be on site every day, and who is my point of contact? The person who sells the job is not always the person who runs it.
- How many projects are you running at once? Looking for an honest number, not a small one.
- Which trades are employees and which are subcontractors? Both are normal; you want to know who is accountable for each.
- How do you handle changes? The answer should include the words “in writing” and “before the work.”
- What is your schedule, and what would delay it? A contractor who names three specific risks has thought about your house.
- How do you protect the rest of the house? Dust barriers, floor protection, negative air. See living through a remodel.
- What is your warranty, and what does it exclude?
- Will you provide lien waivers as subcontractors are paid?
Answers that should end the conversation
- “We can start Monday.” Good contractors are booked. Immediate availability on a large job is worth understanding.
- “Cash gets you a better price.” There is no version of this that protects you.
- “You pull the permit.” This shifts liability for code compliance onto you.
- “We do not need a permit for that.” Sometimes true, and it is checkable rather than something you accept.
- “I need half up front.” A deposit is normal. A large one with no defined deliverable is not.
- “We will sort the details later.” Details are the contract.
- Pressure to sign today. No legitimate contractor requires a decision in the meeting.
- Reluctance to put anything in writing. The single most reliable warning sign there is.
Money, deposits and liens
- Tie payments to milestones, not to dates. Payment on completion of rough-in, not payment on the fifteenth.
- Keep a meaningful final payment until the punch list is cleared. Your leverage disappears the moment the balance is paid.
- Pay the contractor, not the subcontractors, unless the contract says otherwise. Paying trades directly muddles accountability.
- Ask for lien waivers as each subcontractor is paid. In Texas, an unpaid subcontractor can place a lien on your property even if you have paid the general contractor in full. This is the single most under-appreciated risk in a remodel.
- Never pay in cash, and keep every record.
- Get changes priced before approval, always, however small. See remodeling contracts explained.
Key takeaways
- Have the insurance certificate sent by the insurer directly to you.
- Ask for a reference whose project had a problem. That call is the useful one.
- Visit an active site, not just a finished one.
- Give every bidder identical drawings and allowances or the bids are not comparable.
- Read the exclusions before the inclusions.
- Tie payments to milestones and keep a meaningful final payment.
- Collect lien waivers — an unpaid subcontractor can lien your property even if you paid in full.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a contractor is legitimate in Dallas?
What deposit is reasonable?
Why is one bid so much lower than the others?
What is a lien waiver and do I need one?
Should I be worried if a contractor can start immediately?
Jan has practiced interior design in Dallas since 1997 and founded Chateau Concepts in 2001. She holds a BFA in Interior Design from the University of North Texas. She designs and general-contracts residential and commercial projects across the Park Cities, Preston Hollow and North Dallas. Read her full profile →
Written and reviewed by Jan Revels before publicationWork with Chateau Concepts
Jan Revels handles both sides of a project in Dallas and the Park Cities — the design and the build.