So your house is up for some major repairs or remodeling. While you can do these by being a true-blue do-it-yourselfer, most of us don’t have the complete handyman’s skill set to even put up a wallpaper. The best option is to hire a contractor. However, you may have heard a lot of horror stories about contractors and shoddy workmanship, well be sure to follow this guide to help you get the best people to do the job.

Make a list of all the contractors in your area. Now prepare a short list of three basing your decisions from what you have heard from friends and neighbors. From this short list of three, get bids from each of them so that you get the best price option. However, while the prices vary, you just have to make sure that the specifications are the same for each one. You might also notice that prices will be close to each other. Anything too low may be a danger sign of shoddy workmanship or cheap materials.

Once you have decided on one contractor, make a background check of the company. Check for satisfied customers, years in the business, credit, insurance.

If you are confident with your chosen contractor, be sure to lay out the specifics of the project. Make sure that every specification is laid out in writing. There’s nothing wrong at all about being too specific. If there will be any changes to be made along the way, be sure to have all of these agreements put into writing and duly signed.

As for the payment terms, demand a 1/3-1/3-1/3 payment scheme where you pay 1/3 up-front, 1/3 before the project wraps-up and 1/3 when everything is finished and done to your satisfaction. If the contractor demands anything higher than 50%, be cautious. If they give the reason that that should cover all their materials and initial costs, that may mean that the company is in bad financial standing. You might want to reconsider dealing with such a contractor.