Part 3 · Proposals, comparing, signing

Before you sign

Before signing, changes are generally easier to make. Take the time to review the contract carefully.

The most instructive thing that can happen to you

A homeowner wanted a particular paint. He specified the brand, the primer, the number of coats, the color and the finish. He put all of it in writing — across two separate emails to his contractor.

The contract itself said only: “supply and apply flat latex paint.”

He got flat latex paint. As another homeowner in that discussion put it: “Emails and conversations with workers or the GC don’t change the contract terms.”

He did everything a careful person would do. He was specific, he was early, and he wrote it down. It made no difference, because he wrote it in the wrong place. Every promise from every meeting — every “of course we can do that” — has to survive into this document.

This is exactly what the last box on your Chapter 7 question card was for: anything promised verbally that must appear in writing. Get that list out now and check it, line by line, against the contract in front of you.

First: check them again

Chapter 6 taught you how to run these checks; this is not a re-teach, it is the second running of them. Circumstances change: a license can lapse or be suspended, a bond can be canceled, a workers’ compensation policy can expire, personnel on the license can change. Weeks have passed since you first looked.

Check these four things, today:

• License status is still active at cslb.ca.gov.
• The legal entity on the contract exactly matches the entity on the license. Not similar — the same.
• Bond and workers’ compensation are still current.
• The person signing is who you think they are and has authority to sign for that entity. If a salesperson is involved, Chapter 7 covered how that works and how to check the registration.

What the law requires the contract to contain

California also specifies what such a contract must contain. You are not expected to police this like an inspector — but knowing what belongs there tells you a great deal about whether the document in front of you was prepared properly.

The down payment: the rule many homeowners do not expect

Every discussion about deposits argues about what is “standard.” Is 50% down normal? Is a third? People trade opinions about etiquette. In the discussions read for this guide, not one asked the actual question, which is what the law permits.

That is not a negotiating position or a rule of thumb. It is the statute. If someone asks for a large percentage up front on a substantial remodel, the useful response is not outrage — it is a question, because Section 7159.5 contains an exception relevant here, and it is worth knowing about.

Progress payments

One more thing worth asking before you agree the schedule: who is doing the work? Employees or subcontractors, and is workers’ compensation carried where applicable. Chapter 6 explained why that answer matters to you rather than to them.

Your right to cancel

Two practical notes. Look for the detachable forms physically attached to your copy — if they are not there, ask. And treat this as a safety net rather than a plan: the healthier position, as Chapter 7 said, is never needing it, because you were never rushed.

The change order clause — find it now

Three requirements are worth memorizing, because Chapter 13 turns on them: in writing · signed by both parties · before the work begins.

And one honest gap, which matters as much as the rule: California does not prescribe how a change order must be priced. The statute requires the cost to be stated — not that it be calculated in any particular way. There is no statutory markup limit and no required formula. So how changes will be priced is a commercial question to settle now, in this document, while you still have the leverage of an unsigned contract.

If there is an arbitration clause

What you should take from this is not a recommendation. Arbitration is not inherently bad, and this guide will not tell you whether to accept such a clause — that is a legal question about your situation. What you should take is that you are initialing something specific and consequential, that the law requires it to be presented clearly enough for you to notice, and that if you are being asked to initial it quickly, that is the moment to slow down.

Preliminary notices — so one does not frighten you later

Weeks into your project an envelope may arrive from a company you have never heard of, describing your property in formal language. Homeowners understandably read this as a threat. By itself it is not one — here is what it actually is.

Keep every one you receive. Chapter 15 explains why: the names on those notices are exactly the parties whose lien releases matter when you make the final payment.

Do not rush the signature

Reviewing these points before signing is easier than trying to resolve unclear terms after work has started.

Your free pre-signing checklist

Work through this with the contract in front of you. Anything you cannot tick is a question to ask before signing — not after.

Still not sure about something? Ask AI Mickey — it knows this guide and where you are in it.

The whole guide, on one page

Before you go on

That is the end of Part 3. The decision is made and the document is understood. Your signed documents are the clearest record of what you agreed. They do not replace rights provided by law.

Part 4 is the build. The next chapter is about what your life is actually going to be like — the lead times that set the schedule, the dust that can travel beyond the work area, and the honest cost in your own time.